Food Protection Trends - December 2012 - (Page 768)

WhAT’S hAPPENING IN FOOD SAFETY Center for Food Safety Unveils State-of-the-Art Laboratory Testing Facility new state-of-the-art laboratory equipped with instrumentation to allow rapid foodborne pathogen testing and characterization was showcased at The Science Park in College Station. The new facility is designed to support the efforts of faculty who are members of the Center for Food Safety, a collaborative effort by Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M Univ ersity. “We have never had access to a shared facility like this before. Imagine being able to use all of this technology and space without being required to purchase the equipment, pay for maintenance contracts or provide support for experienced technical research staff,” said Dr. Gary Acuff, director. Dr. Acuff said the center provides comprehensive access to food safety expertise through faculty members who can offer “the appropriate science to address a vast range of food safety issues supporting the food industry, regulatory agencies, small businesses and consumers.” “The new multi-user facility offers unprecedented training opportunities through access to new laboratory and pilot plant facilities that allow for hands-on training,” he said. “In addition, the unique design of the facility permits observation of all laboratory activities from outside the Biosafety Level 2 environment to provide training and demonstration opportunities to attendees who lack certification to enter a BL2 environment.” The new laboratory is equipped with instrumentation from leaders A in the food testing industry, such as bioMérieux, BioControl, Neogen and Roka Bioscience, Dr. Acuff said. “This equipment provides automated sample analyses that include enumeration of bacterial indicators, immunoassays, bacterial isolate identification, antimicrobial susceptibility and multiple technologies for DNA detection. Our new Roka Atlas system will allow detection of Salmonella or Listeria from as many as 500 samples in one day.” Dr. Acuff said members of the center are provided access to the facility and experienced staff as a benefit of membership. “Membership in the center is free for Texas A&M University faculty members and fees for use of the facility are extremely affordable since they are based on simply maintaining operations,” he said. Dr. Acuff said the center’s goal is to facilitate the recognition of Texas A&M University as a “national and international leader in food safety research.” “This vision will be fulfilled by cultivating a collaborative, integrated group of research and Extension faculty members and staff,” he said. “This will foster relationships with the food industry and develop a sophisticated portal that attracts external interest and provides outreach and Extension opportunities for center members.” FDAImports.com Launches Five New Labeling Web Sites for Fast and Easy Label Reviews for FDA Compliance M aryland-based FDA consulting firm, FDAImports. com, has launched 5 new labeling Web sites that allow companies with products that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to receive a label review in order to identify any compliance issues with their product label. The streamlined process allows users to easily upload their label files for free, get a reasonable and flat-rate estimate, pay online and receive a comprehensive label review report in as little as 3 days. The report provides a detailed analysis of every inch of the product label, identifying what is compliant, what isn’t and what could be changed in order to avoid problems with FDA. The regulatory background behind the recommendations is also provided so that companies can avoid making the same mistakes on future product labels. With separate label review Web sites for the food, drug, supplement, cosmetic and homeopathic industries, companies can drastically reduce the time and costs associated with FDA compliance, especially if the label review occurs before the product goes to print or ships. This is preventative maintenance at its best. “Labeling compliance is more important than ever,” said Benjamin England, founder and CEO of FDAImports.com, the consulting firm that created the sites. “FDA takes it very seriously and can prevent products from ever coming to market because of a misleading statement, health claim, incorrect Drug or Nutrition Facts panel or wrongly named ingredient.” Many companies aren’t even aware that they have non-compliant labeling claims until the FDA stops their product from being distributed. In fact, some claims can change a product’s regulatory classification from a cosmetic to a drug or from a drug to a food – with severe implications for the manufacturer. 768 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | DECEMBER 2012 http://www.FDAImports.com http://www.FDAImports.com http://www.FDAImports.com http://www.FDAImports.com

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

Food Protection Trends - December 2012
Contents
Sustaining Members
From Your President
Commentary from the Executive Director
Exploration of Past Experiences, Attitudes and Preventive Behaviors of Consumers with Food Allergies about Dining Out: A Focus Group Study
Bacterial Contamination of Shopping Carts and Approaches to Control
General Interest Paper – Rethinking Hand Hygiene in the Retail and Foodservice Industries: Are Recommended Procedures Based on the Best Science and Practical under Real-world Conditions?
IAFP Committee, PDG, and Affiliate Council Mission Statements
Call for Award Nominations
New Members
What’s Happening in Food Safety
Industry Products
Coming Events
Advertising Index
Index to Volume 32
Journal of Food Protection Table of Contents
Booklet Order Form
Membership Application

Food Protection Trends - December 2012