NGFA seeks changes to FSMA registration requirement

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) has urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove several burdensome changes the agency proposed be made in requirements to be imposed on facilities required to register with the agency under federal law.
FDA’s proposed rule would modify aspects of the food facility registration process first initiated under the Bioterrorism Act, and implement certain additional registration refinements made for food and feed facilities under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) – adding new requirements for food facility registration.
“While NGFA appreciates the FDA’s attempt to improve the food facility registration database, we believe several elements proposed in the rule would create an undue burden on facilities,” said David Fairfield, NGFA vice president of feed services.
A chief concern voiced by NGFA was FDA’s proposed requirement to require facilities to obtain and include a facility-specific, nine-digit identifier provided by Dun and Bradstreet – referred to as a DUNS number – with their FDA registrations.
While it “supports the FDA’s efforts to maintain an accurate list of registered food facilities and more efficiently conduct its inspection activities,” the NGFA said it opposed the DUNS requirement as impractical because many companies do not have such numbers for individual facilities, while others have “experienced significant difficulties” when attempting to obtain one. “FDA’s proposal to require facilities to submit a DUNS number has the potential to cause major disruptions to the registration process,” NGFA cautioned, noting that any discrepancy between the DUNS number and a firm’s annual animal drug establishment registration – even something as innocuous as abbreviating St. in one but not the other would cause FDA’s system to reject the facility registration.
NGFA said it believes the burden on facilities to submit a DUNS number would be significantly greater than what was estimated by FDA in its proposal, and would create the “potential to cause major disruptions” in the registration process.
The NGFA also opposed the agency’s proposal to require email verification of facility registrations as ineffective in fulfilling FDA’s stated purpose of preventing unauthorized registrations. NGFA said the provision would be largely unworkable, as most companies with multiple facilities have designated persons assigned the task of submitting such registrations, who typically are different from the owner, operator or agent-in-charge of the facility to which the verification acknowledgment would be sent – the latter of whom would not have direct knowledge of the registration action.
Further, NGFA said such a requirement would not effectively prevent unauthorized facility registrations from being sent by those parties wishing to make false submissions, since such activities could be masked by submitting a false email address to which to send the email verification.

Canada starts, funds Food Safety Information Network

The Canadian government has made an investment of CA$30.7 million (US$24.6 million) for the establishment of the Food Safety Information Network (FSIN).
The FSIN will help connect federal and provincial food safety laboratories and regulators across the country. This new network is hoped to help rapidly identify, mobilize and coordinate laboratory surge capacity and capabilities during complex food safety incidents and emergencies;allow near-real time sharing, organization and analysis of food safety information across the country to inform more preventive and timely risk management decisions; and improve Canada's ability to effectively anticipate and detect routine foodborne threats.
The FSIN is a collaborative initiative developed by the federal government with the provinces and territories. Federal partners include the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The FSIN will be implemented incrementally over five years, linking federal and provincial food safety establishments and accredited laboratories across the country.
Canadian consumers are expected to benefit from the new network through:


• Faster, more proactive food safety interventions;
• More preventive food safety programs and inspections to better protect consumers;
• Strengthened laboratory emergency response during food safety incidents and emergencies (which should speed-up recalls, for example);and
• Improved guidance on reducing food safety risks.
"Our government is committed to ensuring that Canadian families have confidence in the food they buy and eat,” said Rona Ambrose, Canadian minister of health. “Everyone has a role to play in food safety. We are committed to working with all partners to ensure Canadians have access to healthy and safe food. Today's announcement of the Food Safety Information Network means better protection for the health and safety of Canadian families."

New US food safety agency proposed by Obama

• 

  National Chicken Council

  President Barack Obama has proposed a new government agency dedicated to food safety.

  From WATTAgNet:
  U.S. President Barack Obama wants to create a new government agency dedicated to food safety. The potential food safety agency was introduced as part of the president’s budget released February 2.
  Currently, the USDA oversees the safety and inspections of meat and processed eggs and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees safety of most other foods. USDA inspects meat daily as it is processed, while the FDA generally conducts inspections every few years. The two agencies share inspection duties at the border. And several other agencies have small pieces of food safety oversight — from the Commerce Department to the Environmental Protection Agency.
  The split oversight is often complicated, and the Obama administration believes one single agency to handle food safety matters would be an improvement.
  The budget proposes consolidating the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and all of FDA's food safety oversight into one new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The new agency also would coordinate with state and local health departments, a job that is now mostly handled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  In the budget proposal, the Obama administration says the current system's "fractured oversight and disparate regulatory approaches" cause confusion. Consolidation "is an essential step to reforming the federal food safety system overall," it says.
  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the proposal is an attempt to persuade Congress to give the Obama administration authority to reorganize the agencies. Details — such as which of the 15 federal entities that have some food safety oversight would be transitioned to the new agency — could be worked out later. 

Farmer voice matters in building consumer trust

Farmers will need to engage in conversations with consumers for the long term if they are to build trust in today’s food system.
That was among the messages delivered by Charlie Arnot, CEO of the Center for Food Integrity (CFI), at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) 96th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show. “Farmers are accustomed to fixing things in the next production cycle. Building trust with consumers has a longer horizon,” said Arnot, who presented findings from CFI’s 2014 consumer research into consumer skepticism, trending attitudes and trust-building transparency. The research was sponsored, in part, by AFBF.
The survey of 2,005 people looked into the concerns and attitudes of three groups of people: moms, millennials and foodies. Millennials are described as those ages 18-34. Foodies are people who are more likely to seek out information about food and food ingredients and to share information about cooking, food safety and nutrition.
CFI’s research showed that keeping healthy food affordable is a high priority for all three segments. Arnot called that finding “very good news” for those involved in food production when it comes to talking with consumers. “Everything you do can be talked about in that context,” he said. “If we address consumer concerns in that context, our messages will be better received.”
Arnot said that demonstrating shared values is more effective than demonstrating competence when it comes to building trust with consumers. “The goal is not to win a scientific argument, but to find meaningful and relevant ways to introduce science and technology. We’re really good at answering the ‘can we’ question. We need to get better at answering the ‘should we’ question. Educating the public is important, but it isn’t sufficient,” said Arnot.

USDA releases final version of poultry inspection rule

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on July 31 released its final rule on the inspection system for poultry products, known as the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS). The rule, which will soon be published in the Federal Register, leaves the current regulations for line speeds unchanged and calls for poultry companies to meet new requirements to control Salmonella and Campylobacter.
The proposal for modernizing the poultry inspection system was first published on January 27, 2012, and FSIS received feedback from the public, as well as from interagency partners such as the Department of Labor. Specifically, USDA received numerous comments on the proposed rule related to line speeds' impact on worker safety, and it has partnered with the federal agencies responsible for worker safety to address those concerns.
Maximum line speeds remain capped at 140 birds per minute
In response to public comment, the maximum line speeds for plants that newly adopt the NPIS have remained capped at 140 birds per minute, consistent with the maximum speed under existing inspection programs. Additionally, all companies operating under the NPIS must maintain a program to encourage the early reporting of work-related injuries and illnesses, and FSIS employees will receive new instructions on how to report workplace hazards that may affect plant workers, including access to a confidential 1-800 number to report concerns directly to OSHA.
A proposal to increase line speeds had been strongly opposed by civil rights groups, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and as many as 68 members of Congress.
New requirements to prevent Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination
The agency calls the NPIS, a critical step forward in making chicken and turkey products safer for Americans to eat. Poultry companies will have to meet new requirements to control Salmonella and Campylobacter, and estimates that up to 5,000 foodborne illnesses will be prevented each year as a result of the NPIS, which positions food safety inspectors throughout poultry facilities in a smarter way.
According to FSIS, it will now require that all poultry companies take measures to prevent Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination, rather than addressing contamination after it occurs. Also for the first time ever, all poultry facilities will be required to perform their own microbiological testing at two points in their production process to show that they are controlling Salmonella and Campylobacter. These requirements are in addition to FSIS' own testing, which the agency will continue to perform.
"The United States has been relying on a poultry inspection model that dates back to 1957, while rates of foodborne illness due to Salmonella and Campylobacter remain stubbornly high. The system we are announcing today imposes stricter requirements on the poultry industry and places our trained inspectors where they can better ensure food is being processed safely. These improvements make use of sound science to modernize food safety procedures and prevent thousands of illnesses each year," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release.
Optional NPIS
FSIS is also introducing the optional NPIS, in which poultry companies must sort their own product for quality defects before presenting it to FSIS inspectors. This system allows for FSIS inspectors to focus less on routine quality assurance tasks that have little relationship to preventing pathogens like Salmonella and instead focus more on strategies that are proven to strengthen food safety. More inspectors will now be available to more frequently remove birds from the evisceration line for close food safety examinations, take samples for testing, check plant sanitation, verify compliance with food safety plans, observe live birds for signs of disease or mistreatment, and ensuring plants are meeting all applicable regulations.
Poultry industry groups respond to new rule
Joel Brandenberger, president of the National Turkey Federation, applauded the USDA’s action on the inspections rule.
“USDA is to be commended for standing up for food safety in the face of significant pressure,” said Brandenberger. “Modernization of Poultry Slaughter Inspection provides additional tools to plants and federal inspectors to verify that plant food-safety programs are protecting against foodborne illness. By allowing plant employees to conduct some preliminary sorting duties, federal inspectors will be freed to further verify testing on the spot, examine sanitation standards and enforcing safeguards throughout a processing plant.”
However, Mike Brown, president of the National Chicken Council, accepted the news with mixed views.
"I applaud Secretary Vilsack and the food safety professionals at the Food Safety and Inspection Service for moving forward with this rule to modernize our poultry inspection system in order to improve food safety  –  the top priority for our industry," said Brown. "We look forward to reviewing the contents of the final rule and working with the department and our members on proper implementation should our members choose to opt in to the new, voluntary system.”
"Regarding line speeds: It is extremely unfortunate and disappointing that politics have trumped sound science, 15 years of food and worker safety data and a successful pilot program with plants operating at 175 birds per minute.  The rule also goes against global precedent, in which the limiting factors for line speeds are the ability to meet food safety standards, keeping workers safe, and the capability of the equipment to run effectively – not government regulations.  Broiler plants in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Belgium and Germany, among others, all operate at line speeds of 200 or more birds per minute."

UK Food Standards Agency launches 2 Sisters investigation

The UK’s Food Standards Agency has launched an investigation following allegations of failure to follow good hygiene and food safety practices at 2 Sisters plants in Anglesey and Scunthorpe.
The agency has reviewed video footage and photographs gathered by The Guardian of three specific incidents at the plants and checked against its own records. It has announced that it is satisfied that the specific problems at the plants were addressed appropriately at the time by the business and did not present a food safety risk.
However, the agency notes, The Guardian investigation highlighted broader concerns about practices at the plants, including chickens that had fallen onto the floor being put back on production lines. Given these allegations, audits and investigations were started last week.
British Poultry Council response
In response to the allegations, the British Poultry Council (BPC) notes that the incidents highlighted by The Guardian have been thoroughly investigated and corrective action has been taken to ensure they do not happen again. The events were isolated, the BPC notes, and are in no way representative of the high standards of the chicken industry as a whole.
Food safety is the top priority for BPC members, the organization continues, and the companies concerned have strenuously denied the allegations accompanying the images, and have restated their commitment to producing safe food for all their customers.

Salmonella prevalence on chicken decreases 34 percent, FSIS reports

The prevalence of Salmonella on raw young chicken carcasses is down 34 percent over the first quarter of 2013 and represents a decrease of over 120 percent during the past five years, according to the Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) "Quarterly Progress Reports on Salmonella and Campylobacter Testing of Selected Raw Meat and Poultry Products" released on October 25.
This report contained testing information from April 1 through June 30. Specifically for young chicken carcasses, 2,955 samples were collected and analyzed with a positive rate of only 2.6 percent for Salmonella - a fraction of the USDA FSIS performance standard of 7.5 percent for young chicken carcasses. The same samples were also analyzed for Campylobacter and while the percent positive remained unchanged from the first quarter of 2013, it represents a decrease of almost 50 percent since FSIS began testing for Campylobacter on post-chill young chicken carcasses in 2011.
The number of establishments in Category 1, or those establishments performing better than half of the performance standard for Salmonella, was up from the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2013, 70.1 percent of young chicken establishments were in Category 1 compared with 67.6 percent during the first quarter of 2013. Additionally, the number of establishments in Category 3 has dropped by almost 35 percent indicating an improvement in performance at those establishments.
"Overall, the results presented in this quarterly report indicate that we continue to make improvements in the incidence rate of Salmonella and Campylobacter on young chicken carcasses," said Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., National Chicken Council vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. "Establishments continue to demonstrate progress which is evident by the increased number of establishments in Category 1 and the decreased number of establishments in Category 3."
FSIS performance standards must be met or exceeded by chicken processors. For young chicken carcasses just after they are removed from the chiller, the performance standard is 7.5 percent for Salmonella and 10.4 percent for Campylobacter. These samples are taken both by FSIS for verification and the plant itself prior to the carcasses being cut up, deboned or packaged whole. Though there is currently no performance standard for chicken parts, FSIS completed baseline testing in the spring of 2013 and is expected to publish a new standard for chicken parts in 2014.

US House restores food safety lab funding

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an amendment restoring funding to the National Animal Health Laboratory Network after it was cut from the 2012 Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative.
After the entirety of the network's $4.4 million funding was eliminated, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and other organizations worked to draft and propose an amendment. "In the event of an emergency, the NAHLN can mobilize its network to test large numbers of samples rapidly, process diagnostic tests and share information," said Dr. Marguerite Pappaioanou, the AAVMC's executive director. "We applaud the House...for realizing the critical role NAHLN plays in protecting our nation's food supply."
The AAVMC has said that will now work collaboratively with its partners to ensure the Senate retains this funding as they consider fiscal year 2012 appropriations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

FDA issues interim final rules for Food Safety Modernization Act

The Food and Drug Administration has published two interim final rules in the Federal Register, regarding the FDA's administrative detention authority and advanced notice of rejected imports, connected to the Food Safety Modernization Act.
The first interim final rule relates to the FDA’s administrative detention authority. Currently, the FDA has the authority to detain products deemed to have “credible evidence or information indicating that the article of food presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.” Under the FSMA, the criteria level has been modified to the more general definition “reason to believe that the article of food is adulterated or misbranded.” This change in administrative detention authority widens the FDA’s scope of products acceptable for detention to products that would normally be considered as part of a Class II recall.
The second interim final rule relates to importers giving advanced notice of imports that were refused entry into another country. Presently, importers must give the FDA advanced notice of imports electronically through a Customs and Border Protection or FDA system. This interim final rule implements an FSMA-mandated requirement that this prior notice include the identity of any country to which an article of food has been refused entry.
The requirements in both interim final rules will be effective July 3, 2011. Comments will be accepted on both interim final rules and reviewed by the American Feed Industry Association's FSMA work groups.

US meat science association conference to focus on food safety risks

The American Meat Science Association  Reciprocal Meat Conference  will focus on marketing ideas, food safety risks, supply chains on agenda
"Developing Marketable Ideas" will be presented by Dr. Craig Bacon of Tyson Foods. Bacon will focus on discovery of new ideas, the processes to evaluate them and how to turn the ideas into successful products. Rosalind Zils, of Cargill, will speak on the topic of "Defining Food Safety Risks," looking into food safety risks as they relate to supplier systems.
"Enhancing Food Safety Throughout the Supply Chain" will be given by Dr. Kevin Nanke of Lopez Foods. Nanke will explore how to assure a safe food supply chain through interaction across disciplines in the entire chain.
AMSA's Reciprocal Meat Conference will take place Jume 19-22, at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan.

US agencies host joint meetings on food safety

Three U.S. federal agencies – the FSIS, the FDA and the CDC – will hold two joint public meetings this year to consider measuring progress on food safety. These meetings will be held July 21 in Chicago, Ill., and Oct. 20 in Portland, Ore., and will extend the scope of the public workshop held March 30 in Washington D.C.
Interested stakeholders, including members of consumer groups, industry, public health experts and regulators, are invited to comment on measure they recommend or are using to access performance in food safety.
Of special interest to the egg industry is a request to evaluate the FDA Final Rule on salmonella. For further information, visit the FSIS website.

GAO reports food safety regulation shortfalls

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted deficiencies in the U.S. food safety system, particularly in imported products.
The office found a lack of coordination among the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) function of the Department of Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Among the noted issues:
*The CBP computer system does not interact with either FDA or FSIS tracking systems when food products are delivered to U.S. ports.
*The FDA has limited authority to enforce compliance with regulations.
*Individual importers do not have a unique identity number facilitating tracking on CBP and FDA computer systems.
*There is no mechanism to manage shipments that are imported inbound and may be subject to diversion to domestic consumption.
The situation is especially critical in relation to the volume of imports of diverse food products, many of which have the potential to impact public health.

Food safety regulations tightened

The Obama administration initiated the overhauling of food safety regulations, which have come under-fire following numerous product recalls. As part of the new regulations, the administration has outlined measures to prevent salmonella from spreading in the U.S., a news report said.
The FDA issued a final rule to reduce the contamination in eggs, which it believes will reduce illnesses related with the consumption of raw or undercooked eggs by 60% and save more than $1 billion per year. The USDA's FSIS said they will also develop new standards to reduce the incidence of salmonella in turkeys and poultry.
The administration's hope is that 90% of poultry establishments will meet the standards of the salmonella verification program by 2010.

Committee approves Food Safety Enhancement Act 2009

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved HR 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009.
The bill will now be considered by the House of Representatives although final enactment will require parallel action from the U.S. Senate. The bill does not apply to eggs or products regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will receive enhanced regulatory powers to enforce recalls, increase the frequency of inspection of domestic food plants and mandates more detailed records for trace-back.

Arsenic compound in chicken affecting Americans

The arsenic compound roxarsone, which is frequently added to chicken feed to fight parasites and increase growth, is a Class A carcinogen linked to heart disease, diabetes and declines in brain function, according to a report in The Washington Post.
Though the industry has been using roxarsone since its approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 1944, it seems to have little effect except raising the blood count. The meat, thus pinker, appeals more to the customer.
Similarly, the arsenic additive fuels angiogenesis in human cells, which might lead to cancer. Chicken growers have also reported illness from contact with roxarsone while preparing feed. EU outlawed the use of arsenic in chicken feed in 1999. Though several producers like Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms have responded, more than 70% of over 9 billion broiler chicken produced annually in the U.S. are fed roxarsone.

Committee approves Food Safety Enhancement Act

Chairman Waxman's and Chairman Emeritus Dingell's Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 received approval from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The legislation aims to raise FDA's food safety-related authority in the wake of recalls and foodborne illnesses attributable to FDA-regulated products.
The bill will next move to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.

Natural ingredients, irradiation together kill meat bacteria

Food Safety Consortium researchers at the University of Arkansas' Division of Agriculture found that select organic acids, plant extracts and irradiation combine to make a formidable force against pathogenic bacteria on chicken breast meat, according to an article from ScienceDaily.
The researchers reduced E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium in the meat by infusing combinations of organic acids – acetic, citric, lactic, malic and tartaric – into the meat.
The use of green tea and grape seed extracts in combination with irradiation and the organic acids yielded the best results, significantly decreasing all the pathogens.
There were no significant effects on the chicken's color and texture due to the irradiation, said Navam Hettiarachchy, a UA food science professor who supervised the project.
"We want to determine the least amount of plant extracts that we can use and the least amount of irradiation dosage to get the best inhibitory effect," Hettiarachchy said.

California closes poultry health lab

After an unsuccessful pursuit of a budgetary increase, the decision has been made to close the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory Systems' Fresno facility, effective July 19, according to the CAHFS Web site.
The lab, which operates out of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in partnership with the CDFA and poultry producers, diagnoses mainly avian diseases.
Some of the testing performed at Fresno will be redistributed throughout the other four CAHFS laboratories: Davis, Turlock, Tulare and San Bernardino. The remaining services will be outsourced to qualified laboratories throughout the U.S., according to CAHFS.

Salmonella in only 0.3% of Danish poultry

Figures released in Denmark to cover food monitoring in calendar year 2008 show that there is little salmonella in Danish poultry, say local reports.
The data comes from a new report from Denmark's national food agency on the findings of salmonella and campylobacter in both locally produced and imported meat in 2008. The level of salmonella in Danish poultry meat is reported to have been only 0.3%.
Such a low level demonstrates that Denmark fully meets the requirements for achieving special status in the European Union for salmonella in broilers, said Danish food minister Eva Kjaer Hansen.

FSIS launches RSS feeds for safety

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service launched a set of RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, feeds for news and recall releases.
Additionally, FSIS is making available a new capability to bookmark and share food safety content on personal and publicly shared Web pages.
"We are excited to provide food safety information and resources in another timely and convenient manner," said FSIS administrator Al Almanza. "For issues of food safety and public health, delivering useful information to as many consumers as possible is a top priority."
RSS feeds for news content complements those already available for the FSIS podcasting series Food Safety for Meat, Poultry and Processed Egg Product Inspection.
RSS feeds are available at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Feeds/index.asp.