@Risk

The food industry is contending with yet another recall of contaminated food.

This time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is collaborating with public health officials in many states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the State of Rhode Island to investigate a multistate outbreak of a particular strain of Salmonella.

Since July 1, 2009, 207 individuals from 42 states and District of Columbia have been sickened with this Salmonella strain, and preliminary analysis of this study has suggested salami as a possible source of illness. As a result, Daniele International Inc., an establishment with operations in Pascoag and Mapleville, R.I., recalled approximately 1,240,000 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) varieties of Italian sausage products. Specifically, the FDA is actively investigating the supply chain of the black pepper used in the manufacturing of the recalled meat products.

The CDC has identified three interesting and unique features of this outbreak: (more…)

Last week, Nestle announced that it will begin using heat-treated flour in the manufacture of its Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough.

This move came two days after routine testing found two samples of Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough manufactured at the company’s Danville, Virginia facility were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The finished product involved never left the factory or entered the supply chain. None was shipped, and no product is being recalled.

However, this new incident certainly serves as yet another wake-up call that more needs to be done to make this product –and by extension, the entire food supply –safe. (more…)

When asked to grade the safety of the nation’s food supply, most Americans in a recent CBS News poll gave the country a C (34 percent) or a B (33 percent). A mere 7 percent said they would grade the safety of the food supply with an A, while 18 percent responded with a D, and 6 percent with an F.

Even though the U.S. has one of the safest food supplies in the world, it’s clear that high-profile outbreaks of food-borne illness over the past decade have eroded public confidence –and for good reason. Outdated legislation and inconsistent regulation, coupled with supply chains grow that continue to expand in complexity and global reach, have created serious concerns about food supply safety.

More and more, grocery store shelves are stocked with food imported from other countries, but the vast majority of these products have not been inspected by the FDA.  As CBS News reports: (more…)

A risk assessment tool originally developed by the US military to identify areas that might be vulnerable to attack has been adapted to help farmers and food manufacturers assess and mitigate vulnerabilities in their production processes.

The software, called Agriculture CARVER + Shock, is now free and available online, thanks to the FDA and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  It evaluates potential vulnerabilities in the supply chains of different foods and food processes.

The FDA and APHIS partnered with Sandia National Laboratories to develop the special agriculture module, designed primarily for harvest and pre-harvest food production operations.

But, why is it called CARVER + Shock? The name is an acronym for the seven designated attributes for evaluation: (more…)

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) released a report from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), which recommends clear objectives be set to improve the ability of government and industry to trace food products throughout all stages of the supply chain.

As I have posted about before (see here and here, for example), food can become contaminated at any of the many different steps in the supply chain. Improved tracing could help: (more…)