Food Protection Trends - September 2012 - (Page 508)

“From Your president” S eptember is the time of year that frequently signals change – a time for anticipation and planning. This is true in our professional lives, like organizing paper, poster and symposium ideas to submit in October for IAFP, and in our personal lives with the change of season. In Minnesota, where I live, one never knows when summer will end and autumn will begin. We sometimes move rapidly from summer through two weeks of autumn before the first flakes of snow are seen sometime in October. So in September, I look over my garden and wonder if the last of the tomatoes will ripen before the first frost, while anticipating the harvest of the first squash of the season. I also contemplate the recipes that I may use to enjoy the last harvested crop. Gardening and cooking are both personal passions, and love of food is what brought me into the world of food protection. While many food safety professionals enter our field from the sciences (biology, microbiology, chemistry, toxicology, medicine, epidemiology, etc.), my passion was always the food, likely influenced by my childhood. My father was an Army officer, and I lived on three continents growing up. My mother was an adventurous woman and wonderful cook, so we ate in local restaurants, we shopped in the local markets and she added authentic recipes to her collection as we moved from place to place. I still use her Japanese teriyaki marinade recipe from the 1950s, which includes wasabi and mirin (ingredients challenging to find in the U.S.). During the holidays, we prepare a traditional German meal, making Spätzle with the same equipment that she used, and alternating between Schnitzel and Rouladen as the main feature. In summer, gazpacho made with garden fresh tomatoes and cucumbers has been an anticipated delight for decades, frequently served at family picnics, well chilled. My father smokes trout, carefully brining the fish, watching the times and temperatures, storing it in the refrigerator and eating it within a short period of time. By KATIE SWANSON PRESIDENT “Gardening and cooking are both personal passions, and love of food is what brought me into the world of food protection” It is no surprise that I chose to study food in college, starting in dietetics and transitioning to food science when I discovered the fascinating world of food microbiology. It is interesting that my family understood basic food safety practices even before I studied it in school. For example, my mom cautioned me not to eat raw mung bean sprouts in the 1960s. She knew they should be cooked to avoid getting sick, likely a concept learned in Japan. She delivered the same message for raw cookie dough and cake batter. In contrast, Mom and Dad did serve steak tartare at cocktail parties – yes, a bit risky, but they bought an intact cut of quality beef from a local butcher, removed the outer layer of beef (and cooked it later), ground the center portion of the meat at home using clean equipment and kept it well chilled throughout serving. I’m certain of the clean equipment and temperature control because I had to dismantle the grinder to clean it before the party and had to replenish the plates from the refrigerator during the party. Expectations for doing what you are told to do are high in a military family. Food is an amazing thing – essential for survival and often tied to emotional responses. When something goes wrong with food, it evokes an instinctive response, with individuals thinking (accurately or inaccurately) that their very survival is threatened. Because of this, I believe that it is just as important for food safety professionals to understand the social and emotional context of food itself, as it is to understand the science and regulatory aspects of food safety. Considering the scientific, societal and behavioral aspects of the food system can really make a difference in successfully protecting the food supply and influencing behavior change. IAFP provides an exceptional forum to exchange these ideas. Affiliates create a local forum – consider recruiting new members with different perspectives to expand the discussion and impact. IAFP’s Annual, European and International Meetings play a global role in information exchange – consider submitting topics that address the interface of science, regulatory and social aspects of food safety to bring in new perspectives. Our print media reaches an even larger audience – consider reading articles that are not in your area of specialty to potentially provide a new way of looking at a problem. Finally, thank you for being an IAFP member and doing your part to support our mission. Food safety professionals make a difference because food is essential for life. 508 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | SEPTEMBER 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - September 2012

Food Protection Trends - September 2012
Contents
Sustaining Members
From Your President
Commentary from the Executive Director
Investigating Contamination of Bulk Tank Milk with Listeria monocytogenes on a Dairy Farm
General Interest Paper: Environmental Monitoring and Decontamination of Food Processing Facilities
Call for Nominations – 2013 Secretary
New Members
What’s Happening in Food Safety
Industry Products
Coming Events
Advertising Index
Journal of Food Protection Table of Contents
Membership Application

Food Protection Trends - September 2012