Implementation Of Food Safety Programs Research Articles

75 Can Regionalized Livestock Production and Meat Packing Meet the Food Needs of Today’s Consumers?

Meat shortages in many of the largest retail chains during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic affected millions of U.S. consumers. In addition, wait times for custom slaughter of meat animals increased from days to weeks to upwards of 14 mon. Interruptions in livestock slaughter and meat supplies have renewed the emphasis on medium, small, and very small meat slaughters/processors. Numerous states are investing in slaughter/processing plant construction, renovation of existing plants, and establishing or reestablishing state inspection programs. It is conceivable that this reinvestment may alleviate some of the meat supply limitations; yet, there are a number of factors these plants need to address for economic sustainability, including (but are not limited to): consistency of local and regional livestock supply; availability of trained, experienced workforce; plant holding pens and slaughter floor design; pre-slaughter animal welfare training and compliance; development and implementation of food safety programs; fresh and frozen storage capacities; local and regional marketing channels and modes of distribution; and by-products markets and offal disposal. Regardless of plant size, the ultimate goal of all meat packers/processors is the production of consistent, readily available and affordable, high-quality meat and meat products; however, the traditional driving forces of price and taste are being slowly supplanted by consumers’ concerns about production practices and animal management, perceived nutritional benefits, animal welfare concerns, food locality, and conveniences. This presentation will attempt to amalgamate the challenges facing medium, small, and very small meat processors with consumers’ preferences in relation to the sustainability of these revitalized segments of the livestock and meats industry.

An intercontinental analysis of food safety culture in view of food safety governance and national values

Taking food safety culture into account is a promising way to improve food safety performance in the food industry. Food safety culture (FS-culture) research is expanding from an organisational perspective to include characteristics of the internal and external company environment. In this study, the prevailing food safety culture in 17 food companies from four countries on three continents (Africa, Asia and Europe) was assessed in view of food safety governance and national values. The internal environment characteristics, i.e. food safety vision, food safety program and food production system vulnerability, were also assessed. Statistical analysis revealed little variation in FS-culture scores between the companies within the same country. Overall the FS-culture for Greek and Zambian companies was scored proactive, while for Chinese and Tanzanian companies an active score was achieved. Both the internal and external company environment seemed to influence the prevailing FS-culture. Cluster analysis showed that Tanzanian and Zambian companies exhibited similarities in the implementation of food safety programs, and in their national values and food safety governance as compared to Greece and China. Food safety governance was reflected in the food safety programs and supportiveness of the organisation to food safety and hygiene. All cultural dimensions were correlated with risk perceptions, with masculinity and long-term orientation also significantly correlated with the enabling conditions and attitude. Understanding how national values and food safety governance approaches differently influence food safety culture is expected to enable formulation of best approaches tailored for companies operating in countries with different company environments, to improve food safety performance.

Nuts and Grains: Microbiology and Preharvest Contamination Risks.

Low-water-activity foods have been involved in recalls and foodborne disease outbreaks. Increased consumption; better detection methods and reporting systems; improved surveillance, trace-back, and ability to connect sporadic foodborne illnesses; and inadequate implementation of food safety programs are some of the likely reasons for the increase in frequency of recalls and outbreaks linked to dry foods. Nuts and grains can be contaminated with foodborne pathogens at any stage during production, processing, storage, and distribution. Focusing on preharvest contamination, the various potential sources of contamination include soil, animal intrusion, contaminated harvesting equipment, harvest and preharvest handling, storage conditions, and others. The low water activity of nuts and grains prevents the growth of most foodborne pathogens on their surfaces. The long-term survival of bacterial foodborne pathogens (Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes) on dry foods has been documented in the literature for different nut types. Preventing contamination is the key to avoiding foodborne disease risks linked to dry foods. The implementation of good agricultural practices and other food safety systems provides a proactive approach to address concerns thoroughly. A plethora of research is available on preventing the growth of mycotoxin-producing fungi on the surface of nuts and grains. Milling is an effective mechanism to reduce the microbial load on grains. This review focuses on providing information about associated foodborne microorganisms, preharvest contamination sources, and good agricultural practice recommendations for nuts and grains.

Scale of production and implementation of food safety programs influence the performance of current food safety management systems: Case of dairy processors

An FSMS-Diagnostic Instrument was used to evaluate fifteen Kenyan dairy processors based on indicators and descriptive grids for context riskiness, FSMS activities, and microbial food safety (FS) output with respect to scale of production. Contextual riskiness was diagnosed as low, moderate or high. FSMS activities were diagnosed as absent, basic, average or advanced. FS output was diagnosed as not performed, poor, moderate or good. Four clusters with significantly different (p < 0.05) context riskiness, FSMS activities, and FS output, were identified. Cluster I and II had average context riskiness while cluster III and IV had moderate to high risk. Cluster I had advanced FSMS activities (score 2) while Cluster IV had basic activities. Cluster I had the best food safety output (score 2) while Cluster IV had the most basic activities. Cluster I largely comprised of large scale dairies with FS programs, Cluster II medium scale with FS programs, Cluster III medium scale without FS programs, and Cluster IV small scale dairies without FS programs. The small-scale dairies showed the least performance in validation activities. Medium scale dairies with existing FSMS programs performed least in CCP analysis, extent use of feedback information verification, documentation, and record keeping activities while small and medium scale SME performed poorly in nearly all the FSMS activities apart from the adequacy of physical intervention equipment. In conclusion, small sized dairies are likely to lack an FS program, which increases their contextual risk and therefore their inability to have good performing FSMS or guarantee high microbial safety output of dairy products.

Cost of Food Safety

This new publication discusses the costs and long-term benefits associated with the implementation of food safety programs. This 5-page fact sheet covers the history of HACCP, costs associated with the application of food safety programs, reasons to improve food safety, and the financial impact of foodborne illnesses. Written by Annelys Hessing, Renée Goodrich Schneider, Alan Gutierrez, Rachael Silverberg, Michael S. Gutter, and Keith R. Schneider, and published by the UF Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, October 2015. FSHN15-07/FS270: The Cost of Food Safety (ufl.edu)

The Center for Produce Safety - an Industry's Journey to Reduce Foodborne Illness

The mission of the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) is focused on providing the produce industry and government with open access to the actionable information needed to continually enhance the safety of produce. CPS is a collaborative partnership that leverages the combined expertise of industry, government and the scientific and academic communities to focus on providing research needed to continually enhance food safety. An Industry’s Journey to Reduce Foodborne Illness – If there’s one lesson the U.S. produce industry has learned from food safety events over the last decade, it’s this: when a problem arises, we’re all involved — and we’re all at risk. Every produce outbreak, every illness, every recall sends ripples across the marketplace. The entire supply chain, from growers to shippers to retailers, feels the economic, operational and social impact of food safety events. The 2006 E. coli outbreak in spinach, the 2011 outbreak of listeriosis from cantaloupes, and the recent recalls of apples and stone fruit, are stark reminders of the supply chain disruption and human tragedy that can result from foodborne illness outbreaks. While the industry has made great strides in recent years, there’s still a lot we don’t know about what causes many produce outbreaks and how we can prevent them. But that knowledge gap is becoming narrower thanks to the work and mission of the Center for Produce Safety.Impressive record of successCPS — a public-private partnership between industry, government and academia — was formed in 2007 to advance research needed to continually improve produce food safety worldwide. In just a few years, we have awarded $16.4 million and funded 100 research projects. Produce safety has become an industry-wide priority in recent years — and the push to learn more and apply science-based best practices to prevent foodborne illness is intensifying. Government and consumers expect ever-safer food, including fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts. State and federal agencies continue to propose new measures requiring stricter food production, processing and handling. Many within our industry have already taken voluntary measures to improve food safety as companies invest millions to create and implement new initiatives. The Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law in January 2011, presents the most sweeping reform of the nation’s food safety laws in more than seven decades. The legislation raises the stakes across the global food chain: all of us will need to be more vigilant and more accountable for controlling hazards that can cause produce outbreaks. Our industry, of course, embraces any and all precautions against contamination, not just because of the legal ramifications but because it’s the right thing to do. Collectively, we have a tremendous responsibility as leaders of an industry that contributes $554 billion annually to the U.S. economy (source: Produce Marketing Association).Keeping consumers safe and healthyAt the same time, all of us have finite resources. We want to be assured that the actions we take, and the dollars our companies invest, are wise and prudent, are based on the best science — and really do keep consumers safe and healthy. Some steps may be as simple as making sure workers wash their hands, irrigation water is clean and animals stay out of the fields. Others may be far more complex and costly. Now more than ever, the produce industry must work to ensure that effective regulation and implementation of food safety programs are founded in targeted, practical, science-based research.

Biosensor based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes paste electrode modified with laccase for pirimicarb pesticide quantification

This study focused on the development of a sensitive enzymatic biosensor for the determination of pirimicarb pesticide based on the immobilization of laccase on composite carbon paste electrodes. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) paste electrode modified by dispersion of laccase (3%, w/w) within the optimum composite matrix (60:40%, w/w, MWCNTs and paraffin binder) showed the best performance, with excellent electron transfer kinetic and catalytic effects related to the redox process of the substrate 4-aminophenol. No metal or anti-interference membrane was added. Based on the inhibition of laccase activity, pirimicarb can be determined in the range 9.90×10−7 to 1.15×10−5molL−1 using 4-aminophenol as substrate at the optimum pH of 5.0, with acceptable repeatability and reproducibility (relative standard deviations lower than 5%). The limit of detection obtained was 1.8×10−7molL−1 (0.04mgkg−1 on a fresh weight vegetable basis). The high activity and catalytic properties of the laccase-based biosensor are retained during ca. one month. The optimized electroanalytical protocol coupled to the QuEChERS methodology were applied to tomato and lettuce samples spiked at three levels; recoveries ranging from 91.0±0.1% to 101.0±0.3% were attained. No significant effects in the pirimicarb electroanalysis were observed by the presence of pro-vitamin A, vitamins B1 and C, and glucose in the vegetable extracts. The proposed biosensor-based pesticide residue methodology fulfills all requisites to be used in implementation of food safety programs.

Gestão da cadeia de suprimentos e a segurança do alimento: uma pesquisa exploratória na cadeia exportadora de carne suína

A crescente preocupação com a segurança dos alimentos propõe que as cadeias produtivas tenham maior domínio sobre o processo produtivo. A Gestão da Cadeia de Suprimentos, aqui genericamente tratada de SCM (Supply Chain Management), pode apresentar importante contribuição na obtenção de um processo mais uniforme ao longo da cadeia, facilitando o compartilhamento de informações e práticas produtivas. Este artigo tem como objetivo principal identificar a estrutura, as ligações e o nível de integração da Cadeia de Suprimentos da carne suína brasileira destinada à exportação, seguindo o modelo de Lambert et al. (1998), bem como as relações da SCM com a valorização de atributos da carne suína e a implementação de programas de segurança do alimento. A pesquisa empírica foi baseada em uma amostra de dez agroindústrias que atuam nesse setor, as quais foram responsáveis por aproximadamente 73% da quantidade de suínos abatidos em 2002. Os resultados mostram uma cadeia de suprimentos com forte influência da empresa focal (agroindústrias), cuja maioria das ligações com os demais níveis de fornecedores e compradores são do tipo gerenciadas. Estas constatações, somadas àquelas que revelam a importância da SCM na valorização de certos atributos da carne suína e na implementação de programas de segurança do alimento, colocam as agroindústrias como membros-chave para o direcionamento de políticas de promoção da segurança do alimento da carne suína brasileira.

The occurrence and ecology of Trichinella in marine mammals

Trichinella in marine mammals has a circumpolar arctic distribution and a narrow range of host species. It is commonly found in polar bears (Ursus maritimus), and increasingly in walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) where it presents a significant zoonotic hazard. This has resulted in the implementation of food safety programs in some arctic communities to test harvested walrus meat for Trichinella larvae prior to consumption. Trichinella has been reported infrequently in bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) and ringed seals (Phoca hispida), and was once observed in a Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). Cannibalism is probably the most important factor in maintaining a Trichinella cycle in polar bears. Arctic carnivores such as polar bears, arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) have a high prevalence of Trichinella infection and the carcasses of at least some of these animals are deposited in the ocean. Scavenging of these carcasses by walruses probably occurs, but may not account for the high prevalence the parasite seen in this host species. Predation, carrion feeding and cannibalism have been documented for walruses and a sylvatic cycle similar to that of bears may exist in walrus populations. Seals and whales are likely infected through infrequent exposure to infected carcasses, either directly by scavenging or indirectly by consuming amphipods or fish that have fed on infected carcasses. The inefficiency of this mechanism may account for the low prevalence of Trichinella in seals and whales. It is known that isolates from marine mammals are cold tolerant, and infectious for man, and have been identified as Trichinella nativa (T2). Molecular and other phylogenetic studies would be useful to facilitate studies on the inter-relationship of Trichinella cycles involving marine and terrestrial mammals in the arctic and subarctic, and in the investigation of human outbreaks of trichinellosis in these areas.