Food Protection Trends - August 2011 - (Page 544)

Celebrating 100 Years of IAFP Journals: 2000s Prepared by the FPT Subcommittee of the 100−Year Planning Committee* T he decade starting with the year 2000 began with a bang, as the world waited to see if all the precautions that had been taken would prevent the dreaded Y2K meltdown. It was a fitting start to the 2000s, as fear of a technology failure ushered in a decade in which technology impacted almost every aspect of protecting the food supply. The way we communicated about food protection issues changed significantly, from paper reports, to online newsletters, to e-mail messages and blogs, and even through online social media; the time it takes to learn about an outbreak has shortened from months to weeks to days to an instant. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the other attacks that followed led to a realization of the vulnerability of our food supply to attack. Following this, a large shift occurred in the paradigm of food protection so that it also encompassed biosecurity hazards. Greater consideration of such hazards has led to strengthening of facility security and development of risk assessments to prevent intentional harm caused through agro-terrorism. A systematic risk-based approach has become a reliable and economical means to identify and prioritize these vulnerabilities (3), and the adoption of this approach is evident in manuscripts published in the Journal of Food Protection (JFP). A quick check on the web of science shows 3,976 publications in JFP from 2000 to 2010, over 1,000 more than in the 1990s. The focus of JFP on bacterial pathogens is evident from the number of publications related to Escherichia coli serovars (1,468 manuscripts, including 991 specific to Escherichia coli O157), Salmonella (1,335 manuscripts), Listeria (1,126 manuscripts), Campylobacter (338 manuscripts), and even Enterobacter sakazakii (Cronobacter spp., 53 manuscripts). Manuscripts addressing other microbial pathogens were lower in numbers: viruses (88 manuscripts) and parasites (22 manuscripts). Allergens (18 manuscripts) and chemical contaminants such as melamine (3 manuscripts) were hardly mentioned at all. Top cited publications in JFP from the 2000s are indicative of trends seen in the food industry. Public demand for specific trends — organic, natural, minimally processed, local and sustainable — had the food industry looking for alternative processing and preservative technologies. A plethora of published manuscripts were related to the activity of naturally occurring antimicrobials, including essential oils, against foodborne pathogens in a wide variety of food matrices. Two of the top 10 cited manuscripts in this decade (4, 6) addressed natural antimicrobials. Alternate processing technologies, such as ultraviolet light (79 manuscripts), electrolyzed water (39 manuscripts), ozone (41 manuscripts), and chlorine dioxide (38 manuscripts) treatments, along with different aqueous chemical treatments and washes, also left their mark on JFP publications in the 2000s. A 2003 review of consumer handling in the home (12) determined that 75% of the reviewed studies used surveys (i.e., self reporting) of consumer behavior. However, knowledge, intentions, attitudes, and self-reported practices did not correspond to observed behaviors, suggesting that observational studies provide a more realistic indication of the food hygiene actions actually used in domestic food preparation. This change in the way microbiologists look at food safety actions is one of the cornerstones of the late 2000’s movement toward behavior based on food safety management, specifically a change from a “food safety management system” to a “food safety culture” in both large scale and domestic food production environments. Coupled with this change in approach has been a progression of riskbased evaluations beyond the historical Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) programs of the 1990s to the integration and coordination of these activities through all facets of the farm to fork continuum. Papers in JFP adopting a risk-based approach included the development of standards for enteric pathogens in produce irrigation water (13); Clostridium perfringens in ready-to-eat and partially cooked meat and poultry products (2); and Staphylococcus aureus in raw milk (10). Public demand for convenience foods has increased steadily over the past 20 years (9). This has been coupled with growing concerns for Listeria monocytogenes associated with ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. Between 1998 and 2000, FSIS reported 71 L. monocytogenes recalls, involving over 92 million pounds of RTE meat products (5). A large-scale survey reported a L. monocytogenes prevalence of 1.82% in ready-to-eat foods purchased from various retail locations (8). In response to this threat, in 2003, FSIS released legislation (68 FR 34207) declaring L. monocytogenes an adulterant in meat and poultry RTE foods. The multitude of JFP articles Continued on page 539 544 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | AUGUST 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - August 2011

Food Protection Trends - August 2011
Contents
Sustaining Members
Reflections of Your President
Commentary from the Executive Director
Assessment of the Potential for Cross-contamination of Food Products by Reusable Shopping Bags
Verification of Hygiene in Australian Manufacturing Beef Processing — Focus on Escherichia coli O157
IAFP’s European Symposium Hightlights
New Members
What’s Happening in Food Safety
Industry Products
Coming Events
Advertising Index
Journal of Food Protection Table of Contents
Membership Application
Celebrating 100 Years of IAFP: 2000s

Food Protection Trends - August 2011