Food Protection Trends - November 2009 - 810

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN FOOD SAFETY FMI Statement on FDA Launch of Reportable Food Portal and Registry he Food Marketing Institute (FMI) issued the following statement from Leslie Sarasin, president and chief executive officer, regarding this week’s launch by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of a Reportable Food Electronic Portal and Registry. “We commend FDA for launching version 1.0 of the Reportable Food Electronic Portal and Registry to fulfill the congressional directive to track patterns of adulteration in food. We look forward to working with FDA through the implementation process and on additional food safety measures.” “The agency’s electronic database should work well with the industry’s Rapid Recall Exchange. This online initiative, set to be launched later this month, is designed to expedite supplier notification of food recalls to food retailers and wholesalers with more complete and accurate information.” T the assembly of metal tubing into further fabricated forms or systems. This standard includes the requirements for the materials of construction and fabrication techniques, including surface finish. The polishing requirement, which appeared in previous versions of the standard, was removed due to improvements in stainless steel manufacturing techniques. Copies of the new standard are now available for purchase in electronic format or printed version through the 3-A SSI Web site at www.3-a.org, see ‘Purchase Standards and Practices’. US EPA Registers PURE Bioscience’s SDC-based Food Contact Surface Sanitizer URE Bioscience, creator of the patented silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) antimicrobial, has announced that it has obtained US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration for its SDC-based sanitizer for food contact surfaces. The new sanitizer was registered by PURE’s wholly owned subsidiary, ETI-H2O, under the trade name Axen®50 for sanitization of food contact surfaces and equipment in dozens of environments including farms, food processing plants, schools, hospitals and other institutions, restaurants and homes. Michael L. Krall, President and CEO of PURE Bioscience commented, “This long-awaited registration opens new, major markets for PURE Bioscience. Foodborne illnesses create significant health and economic problems in the US and internationally, and PURE welcomes the opportunity to offer a technology to help stem the spread of these dangerous P 3-A SSI Issues Revamped Standard for Metal Tubing -A Sanitary Standards, Inc. announces the release of a comprehensive revision of 3-A® Sanitary Standard #33-02, Metal Tubing. This newly published revision is the major (5-year) update of this Standard. The Metal Tubing standard is widely referenced in the dairy processing industry and covers the sanitary aspects of metal tubing used to conduct milk and milk products. This standard does not apply to pathogens that cause millions of illnesses.” Mr. Krall continued, “The EPA’s registration of Axen50 as a food contact sanitizer cleared a big hurdle for PURE. Now that we’ve established a food contact tolerance of 50 parts per million of silver, this registration provides two roads to market for SDC-based food contact surface sanitizers via the EPA. We plan to add the extensive broadspectrum antimicrobial claims from our existing disinfectant registration to the registration of the new food contact sanitizer, and, also through the EPA, we expect to amend our disinfectant product registration claims to add the new food contact sanitization claims. The EPA regulatory work will include state registrations by distributors and is expected to take at least six months.” “In addition, this registration accelerates our ongoing pursuit, through USDA, of additional direct food contact applications of SDCbased formulations as antimicrobial processing aids.” The CDC estimates that foodborne pathogens cause 76 million illnesses per year in the US resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,200 deaths. And although Americans have come to expect such risks associated with meat products like raw hamburger, the proportion of outbreaks caused by seemingly innocuous fruits and vegetables is increasing. E. coli alone causes approximately 70,000 infections each year, and 5–10% of those infected develop a potentially fatal kidney complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome. Foodborne illness creates not only health but also confidence 810 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | NOVEMBER 2009

http://www.3-a.org

Food Protection Trends - November 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - November 2009