There's more to inspection and detection systems than meets the eye

Inextricably linked to profitability – food safety and compliance are at the top of the list of today’s food manufacturers. Even without the recent drumbeat of product recalls – some national in scope, some linked to potentially fatal illnesses – addressing regulatory and safety issues has been a priority for anyone in the food chain who is a stopgap between food products and consumers.
To help manufacturers achieve food safety and stay compliant with increasingly stringent regulations and standards, Anritsu Industrial Solutions USA provides safety and security with its advanced inspection and detection systems. “At the forefront of detection technology, Anritsu’s X-Ray inspection systems, Checkweighers, Metal Detectors and proprietary processes and software ensure the safety and quality of products, and at the same time, providing greater efficiency and return on investment,” said Erik Brainard, President and CEO.
Recently, Anritsu developed a new proprietary process designed to drive margins to manufacturers’ bottom line while meeting the industry’s challenging needs for product safety, compliance, quality and efficiency. The Detection360™process includes four key phases to help companies determine the solutions that work best for their products and production lines.

• Discovery Phase, which determines a processor's goals, process, packaging, and end user
• Mapping Phase, in which inspection technology is mapped through detailed and accurate detection estimates
• Integration Phase, where Anritsu integrates solutions from its broad range of standard and semi-custom equipment
• Performance Phase, which involves integrating technology with Anritsu's basic and advanced training, preventative service programs, and operational equipment review.

Among Anritsu’s solutions for inspection and detection are UltraHD X-Ray technology and the DualX system.

NAMI signs cooperative agreement with CSIQ

The North American Meat Institute and The China Society of Inspection and Quarantine (CSIQ) has signed an agreement to cooperate on key food safety programs and to enhance the technical information exchange between the groups.

Under the agreement, CSIQ and the Institute will strengthen technology exchanges and cooperation in inspection and quarantine, collaborate on inspection and quarantine verification and food safety cooperation and communication at the local and national level. The two organizations also will share information concerning regulatory and scientific developments that can impact their members and disseminate the information, as appropriate. Both organizations will convene periodically to explore additional mechanisms that would mutually benefit each organization’s members.

CSIQ is approved by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, registered by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and supported by General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ). CSIQ is a national, non-profit, voluntary organization that aims to promote academic communication and technical cooperation, advocates national high-tech inspection development and seeks to enhance the performance and level of inspection.

“This newly formed partnership is consistent with the Institute’s long-standing philosophy that food safety should be a non-competitive issue,” said Institute Chairman Dave McDonald, president of OSI Industries. “We both know there is a time to compete against one another – that makes both of us better and stronger. But there is also a time when cooperation should trump competition, and that is when it comes to food safety.”

“Our nations individually have some of the best minds in science and technology and food technology in particular,” McDonald said. “Separately, we are leaders, but working together, we can become exceptional leaders. In fact, we can help create a new global path.”

The Institute’s Senior Vice President of International Trade William Westman will serve as the liaison to the newly formed partnership. The Institute is also a founding member of the U.S.-China Agriculture and Food Partnership.

National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection to host public meeting

The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) will host a public meeting January 7-8, 2014 to review and discuss safe handling instructions included on food labels. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is also seeking feedback on its Establishment-Specific Data Release Strategic Plan.
The meeting will be held from 9 a.m.to 5 p.m. EST each day, and take place in the first floor auditorium of the Patriot Plaza III building, located at 355 E St., SW Washington, DC 20024.  Registration begins on site at 8:30 a.m. each day. Additional details and the meeting agenda are accessible at the NACMPI website.
FSIS wants the committee to fully explore enhancing the safe food handling label on meat and poultry packages and provide the agency with feedback. The agency will then consider whether or not the current safe handling instructions should be changed to meet the informational needs of consumers.  FSIS has also requested that the group review and provide further suggestions to its Establishment-Specific Data Release Strategic Plan that was developed from NACMPI recommendations in 2010.
FSIS welcomes comments through February 8, 2014, on the topics discussed at the NACMPI public meeting. Comments may be submitted via e-mail to: NACMPI@fsis.usda.gov or by mail to: National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, USDA, FSIS, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mail Stop 3778, Washington, DC 20250 or submitted via fax at: (202) 690-6519.

United effort delivers crucial European meat inspection vote

The long-overdue modernization of European meat inspection remains on track following the approval of visual assessments and Food Chain Information as the core processes for ensuring that meat is produced in the correct way and is safe to eat.
"We've been working for the last three years to bring sense and reality into Europe's 100-year-old meat inspection structure and are delighted that last-ditch attempts to block changes to EU pig inspection were defeated in the European Parliament earlier this month," said Alan McNaughton, president of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW). "If MEPs had voted in favor of the status quo for pig inspections they would have killed inspection reforms across the whole meat industry. That would have been a disaster in relation to the continued growth and development of our own forward-looking and high quality Scottish meat industry.
"Thankfully, a united effort by industry bodies, the Food Standards Agency and several UK MEPs, blocked the wrecking move, to the enormous benefit of meat production, processing and consumption in the years ahead."
The way is now clear for pork to be declared fit for human consumption following a detailed visual assessment of the carcass concerned, aligned to the provision of all necessary Food Chain Information (FCI). Exposing carcasses to systematic incision or palpation, which has been around for more than a century, will no longer be the routine inspection answer, almost regardless of what questions were asked. These processes will still be available for use when appropriate, of course, but will not be trotted out purely for historic reasons.
"It is entirely correct that processes designed to counter the common disease and infection risks of the early 1900s should be removed from modern meat inspection," said McNaughton.  "The new approach we now have for pigs, and can begin looking forward to having for cattle and sheep, is efficient, effective and totally science-based. It addresses the disease and infection risks we face today, and it does it very well indeed."
The SAMW president also paid tribute to the involvement in the pig vote process of Scottish MEPs George Lyon and Alyn Smith, FSA's Javier Dominguez and the team at UECBV.
"The combined efforts of George, Alyn and Javier were extremely effective in the run up to this crucial vote," said McNaughton. "The time and effort taken in relation to this issue, by such a broadly-based spread of people and organizations, highlights the importance of the decision which has now been reached.  In fact, while meat inspection and legislation often attracts many differing views and opinions, this was one issue on which all sides came together to the long-term benefit of producers, processors and consumers."

APHIS maintains some operations during government shutdown

As the United States government begins its partial shutdown, the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has begun to temporarily cease its nonessential operations. Certain activities will continue as they are financed through user fees or trust funds, while others are considered essential services, APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea announced in an email on October 1.
Activities essential to ensuring continued public health and safety, will resume, the agency stated. Among those are:

• Operations at the APHIS' Safety and Security Unit, which provides oversight and technical consultation on all environmental, health, safety and security issues for employees of the National Centers for Animal Health in Ames, Iowa. A core Safety and Security Unit staff will be maintained to address any safety and security issues that may arise.
• Border and coastal protection initiatives, including agricultural quarantine, inspection and surveillance activities that prevent the introduction to animal and plant disease or pests into the country.
• Protection and maintenance of APHIS facilities, including the National Centers for Animal Health, the National Wildlife Research Center and its field stations, and the Center for Plant Health Science and Technology.
• Emergency and disaster assistance: Minimal staffing will be maintained to be aware of potential instances of foreign animal diseases. Laboratory personnel will be available to run tests on samples associated with foreign animal disease investigations, and at the beginning of the period, to close out pending lab tests.
• Activities needed to maintain protection of research property. This includes APHIS' National Wildlife Research Center's scientists, who develop wildlife damage management methods to reduce threats to human health and safety, as well as to care for animals being studied at the National Wildlife Research Center, National Veterinary Services Laboratories and the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Lab personnel will also be available to suitably store lab samples.

Meat, poultry inspectors won’t be affected if government shuts down

While the possibility of a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year on September 30 looms, all federally inspected meat and poultry plants will continue to receive inspection. According to existing law, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors are among those employees designed as providing essential functions and they will continue to be paid.
Joel Brandenberger, president of the National Turkey Federation, in an email to federation members, reassured that inspections will continue and plants will continue to operate with inspectors onsite, he did caution that in the possible event of a government shutdown, the workload with other support functions at FSIS could be impacted, such as administrative appeals and labeling. 

European Food Safety Authority recommends further meat inspection improvements

The European Food Safety Authority published a number of recommendations in late June for improving meat inspection procedures to better protect consumers and animal health and welfare.
The recommendations are part of a set of scientific opinions on inspection of ruminants, farmed game and domestic solipeds, such as horses. They follow recommendations made for swine and poultry in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
The food authority's opinions have highlighted that traditional meat inspection is not always suitable for detecting the main meat-borne hazards such as Campylobacter and Salmonella or contamination by chemical substances.
Among its recommendations to the current system are:

• Introduction of a comprehensive meat safety assurance system, including clear targets for main hazards, both at the farm and in carcasses at the abattoir level
• Meat inspection, which includes ante- and postmortem inspections, is a valuable tool for the detection of specific animal health and welfare conditions
• Omission of routine palpation or incision techniques in postmortem inspection to avoid cross contamination with the most significant microbiological hazards
• If routine palpation and incision are omitted, other approaches should be followed to compensate for the associated loss of information, particularly for the surveillance of bovine tuberculosis
• Extended use of other information collected throughout the food chain could compensate for some but not all the information lost due to the proposed changes

US House advances measure to prevent meat inspector furloughs

Front-line meat and poultry inspectors came one step closer to avoiding furloughs, as the U.S. House voted on March 21 on a continuing resolution that shifts $55 million to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow the inspectors to keep working.
The House approved the bipartisan measure by a 318-109 vote.
"The rarity of coming together as we are a week or so before the ending of the (continuing resolution) to pass a new continuing resolution by agreement of the Senate, with the myriad of details involved in these bills, is remarkable," said House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Kentucky.
The continuing resolution contained an amendment, which provides flexibility to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service to prevent furloughs of front-line food safety inspectors at federally inspected meat and poultry plants. The $55 million in funding provided in the bill will not exempt the Food Safety and Inspection Service from sequester cuts, but it will put additional funding back into the account in order to try to prevent furloughs of front-line food safety inspectors, who are deemed "essential" federal employees.
The Senate approved the measure one day earlier. The bill now moves on for President Barack Obama's approval, which is expected.

Senate moves to avoid USDA meat inspector furloughs

Senators agreed to shift $55 million in funds within the U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 20 to avert the layoff of all U.S. meat inspectors this summer due to federal budget cuts.
On a voice vote, the Senate adopted the amendment as part of a government-wide funding bill. Leaders then sent the bill for passage in the House, which is expected to vote on March 22.
"If it gets passed, we will apply it," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. Otherwise, he said, there was no way to avoid furloughs of all inspectors for a total of 11 days.

Legislation offers flexibility for meat inspectors to continue work

An amendment to provide the Obama Administration with the flexibility it says it currently does not have to assure federal meat inspectors and other essential employees continue to provide vital services has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
The amendment to the Senate's bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the year was introduced March 13 by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and was co-sponsored by Nebraska Republican Sens. Mike Johanns and Deb Fischer. Johanns is a former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Johanns earlier in the week wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pressing him to explain why he didn't do more to with Congress to minimize the impact of sequestration on food safety inspectors and the livestock industry.

US meat, poultry inspection committee members appointed

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has appointed members to the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection for the 2012–2014 term.
The new members are: Dr. Carol Lorenzen - University of Missouri; Sherika Harvey - Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce; Dr. John Marcy - University of Arkansas Center of Excellence for Poultry Science; Christopher Waldrop - Consumer Federation of America; and Dr. Michael Rybolt - Hillshire Brands Company.
Returning members of the committee are: Patricia Buck - Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention; Dr. Fur-Chi Chen - Tennessee State University; Nancy J. Donley - STOP Foodborne Illness, Inc.; Dr. Veneranda Gapud - Process Management Consulting; Dr. Heidi Kassenborg, Minnesota Department of Agriculture; Sarah A. Klein - Center for Science in the Public Interest; Robert G. Reinhard - Hillshire Brands Company; Dr. Craig E. Shultz, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; Dr. John Tilden - Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; Steve E. Warshawer - Mesa Top Farm; Dr. J. Byron Williams, Mississippi State University; and Leonard W. Winchester - Public Health - Seattle and King County.
Established in 1971, the 17-member committee meets on food safety concerns and advises the Secretary of Agriculture on matters affecting federal and state inspection program activities. It also contributes to regulatory policy development.
The committee will host public meetings January 16–17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection hosts public meeting

The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection will host a two-day public meeting to review and discuss strengthening agency verification activities pertaining to veal and categorizing FSIS regulations as public health regulations.
According to Food Safety and Inspection Service test results, veal trimmings and ground beef produced from veal have a higher percentage of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli than do trimmings and ground beef produced from other cattle classes. FSIS is seeking feedback from the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection on improvements the agency can make to its verification activities of sanitary dressing and interventions and its compliance guidance in addressing veal slaughter operations. FSIS is also seeking feedback from committee on outreach strategies for communicating with the veal industry. FSIS has also revised its criteria for identifying regulations that are most closely related to public health outcomes and is seeking input from the committee on the criteria and feedback on the proposed approach.
The meeting will be held January 16-17, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Registration will begin on site at 8:30 a.m. each day.

FSIS welcomes comments through January 12, 2013, on the topics discussed at the public meeting. Comments may be submitted via email to: nacmpi@fsis.usda.gov or by mail to: National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, USDA, FSIS, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mail Stop 3778, Washington, DC 20250 or submitted via fax at: +1.202.690.6519.

Scottish government funding research to determine meat quality

The Integrated Measurement of Eating Quality robot in action at Scotbeef, Bridge of Allan.

The Scottish government and Quality Meat Scotland are co-funding a £1 million Integrated Measurement of Eating Quality project, which is using cutting-edge automated technology to determine carcass pH and temperature using surface-based ultrasound probes located at different positions on the carcass to help determine the quality of meat.
The three-year project, being delivered by a consortium of partners and due for completion in the spring of 2013, also uses automatic means of measuring meat color, carcass fat and eating and nutritional qualities. These measures are being integrated with a video image analysis system, resulting in a new process for use on the line in abattoirs. In the future, say researchers, this could lead to the development of a system which is faster, less labor-intensive, less expensive and delivers new information.
The initial focus of the project is on beef, with the aim to extend the technology to lamb and pig meat at a later date. Central to the research is the use of robotic technology similar to that utilized by the high precision motor industry. “A priority since moving the robot onto the processing line has been looking closely at the technical robustness and intelligent autonomy of the system," said Dave Ross, senior research engineer of the sustainable livestock systems group at Scottish Agricultural College. “The automation system and sensors are now being used successfully in a real-time environment to assess the overall performance of the system in measuring meat and carcass quality-related parameters. The project is moving into a validation trial phase through the remainder of 2012 and early 2013."

Former USDA Under Secretary supports federal inspection in meat and egg plants

Dr. Richard Raymond, previously Under Secretary for Food Safety at the USDA, addressed the InnoVet program in Quebec, Canada, on advances in prevention of disease from intensive livestock production.

Dr. Richard A. Raymond, previously the Chief Medical Officer for Nebraska and subsequently Under Secretary for Food Safety at the USDA from 2005 to 2008, commented on advances in disease suppression at the InnoVet 2010 Biotechnology Conference in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada.
The theme of his presentation was “healthier animals contribute to safer food, resulting in healthier humans.” Recent outbreaks of disease including avian influenza demonstrate the link between livestock and human health.
Dr. Raymond is an opponent of the frequently expressed sentiment that “bigger is not necessarily better”. He believes that intensive agricultural practices are necessary to feed the world’s burgeoning population. Because the risks and consequences of infection increase with large production units, appropriate controls and good production practices including biosecurity and vaccination are necessary to ensure a safe food supply.
During his career with USDA he participated in a number of international organizations including the World Health Organization. This body has stated “governments could save billions of dollars by stepping up the prevention and control of high impact animal diseases some of which pose a direct threat to human health”.
Raymond commented that life expectancy in the U.S. in 1900 was only 49 years but increased to 78 years by the end of the 20th century. Causes of death have changed markedly with the transition from infections to metabolic and life style conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.
The adoption of confined livestock and concentrated production systems has impacted animal and poultry health requiring more intensive vaccination, environmental remediation and a safe food and water supply. The application of appropriate preventive measures has virtually eliminated the impact of trichinosis, BSE, tuberculosis, anthrax, and brucellosis in livestock now raised in North America.
Although poultry have not historically been associated with human disease, the recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Asia and more recently egg-borne salmonellosis in Europe and the U.S. illustrate some of the problems which must be anticipated and prevented.
Raymond expressed the need to maintain federal inspection in meat and egg plants. The application of advances in biotechnology will contribute to the development of vaccines and hopefully should eliminate the need for antibiotics. Biotechnology should also contribute to more effective diagnostic procedures.
Consumer education is considered to be an important component of promoting public health. Improved monitoring of feed quality to ensure wholesomeness, enhancing trace back and strengthening surveillance for critical diseases are all required as food production is intensified.
As a physician and administrator, Raymond recognizes the need for one health initiative. This requires close collaboration between government and private sectors and cooperation among a wide range of professional disciplines to benefit all stakeholders.

Report recommends change in food inspection

A new study says food inspection should be done by state and local authorities, according to a report in the DesMoines Register. The National Academy of Sciences study by scientists and industry experts recommends the FDA set standards and conduct audits, and focus efforts only on at-risk foods.
The Senate will soon vote on legislation to increase oversight and safety regulation by the FDA. While the FDA regulates 80% of the food supply, it has a fraction of inspectors compared to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates meat and poultry.

New antitrust rules set to be released this spring

Meat companies and producers are awaiting the release of new federal antitrust rules to be enacted by summer, a schedule set forth in the 2008 Farm Bill, according to the Associated Press.

The new rules are being developed by the Packers and Stockyards Administration, a wing of the U.S. State Department that was established in 1921 over concerns about possible monopolies in the meat industry.
Analysts expect the rules to be stricter than current regulations by, for example, limiting the ability of poultry processors to require producers to make improvements to their chicken houses. The rules could also restrict meat processors in choosing between independent and contract producers when purchasing cattle or hogs.