Food Protection Trends - November 2010 - 701

In “Principles and Best Practices in Risk Communication: Part II,” Andy Benson, International Food Information Council, Washington, D.C., stated that risk communicators must present information that consumers want in a way they understand it. Consumers feel, believe and consider risk from a values-based perspective; however, scientific experts know, think and present fact-based information. “Communicating Food Risks in SE Asia: A Case Study” was presented by Peter Ben Embarek, World Health Organization, Dept. of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Illness, Beijing, China. The Chinese infant formula melamine contamination event posed a significant challenge to food safety officials. Because of a company driven by greed, this contamination event increased food safety awareness in China tremendously. Traditional media as well as newer “social media” played an important role in spreading the news to such a large audience. Immense public outrage over the contamination event led to many changes being implemented by the Chinese government. This event really highlighted the importance of proper risk communication to a large population during an active outbreak. “Risk Communication for South American Audiences” was not presented; the speaker, Genaro W. Garcia, Centro Panamericano de Fiebre Aftosa, Health Surveillance and Disease Management, São Bento, Brazil, was not present. “Risk Communication: The U.S. FDA Perspective,” presented by Marjorie Davidson, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, College Park, MD, emphasized that FDA recognizes the challenge of disseminating sound information to the public, as well as getting the public to adopt the practices. Work is being done to both re-examine and revamp old messages (FightBAC), as well as develop new messages. Work is being done with the Ad Council, WebMD, YouTube, and Twitter to greatly expand message range as well as target specific audiences. Consumer surveys are being utilized to determine efficacy of FDA’s newer approaches to risk communication.

Michelle Jay-Russell, University of California, spoke about the role of wildlife as vectors for foodborne pathogens. She indicated that there is some potential risk from wildlife, as they do carry pathogens; however, contamination from wildlife occurs at very low levels. It was noted that population density should be considered as a factor when determining field contamination risks. Jeffery LeJeune, Ohio State University, discussed the use of microbial source tracking to determine the source of fecal contamination. Tracking sources of contamination was noted as a means of better understanding what needs to be excluded from fields in the future to avoid a reoccurrence of the contamination. Don Schaffner, Rutgers, began by emphasizing the importance of microbial numeracy among food microbiologists and the notion that there is no such thing as “zero risk.” The presentation then moved to a discussion of data management and online data sharing and their many benefits. Tim York, Markon Cooperative, suggested that litigation fears and consumer expectations of perfect produce will continue to drive unwarranted, non-science based protective measures as producers continue to strive for brand protection by managing to a “zero risk.” Liability law changes and better consumer education are the best methods to correct the current situation.

S32 — Bacterial Toxins: A Past or an Emerging Issue for Food and Beverage Safety? Visvalingam Jeyachchandran and Travis Chapin
Patrice Arbault, from the Food Safety and Analytical Methods group at BioAdvantage Consulting, Orlienas, France, provided a brief introduction to the bacterial toxins. Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus were found to be most important foodborne pathogens in France, in contrast to the USA and Canada, where these two are no longer in the top five list of important foodborne pathogens. Sandra Tallent, from FDA Division of Microbiology, College Park, MD, delivered a talk entitled “Staphylococcal Enterotoxins — An Underestimated Threat?” Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) are heat stable enterotoxins that cause gastroenteritis as a result of consumption of contaminated foods that have been stored under abusive temperatures. Eighteen SEs have been identified to date and designated SEA-SEE, SEG-SER, and SEU. In 2003, more than 13,000 people became sick in Japan after consumption of dairy products contaminated with SEA and SEB. The same year, 8 people were affected by SEH in Norway due to the consumption of contaminated mashed potatoes. PCR based and ELISA techniques are the current methods employed to indentify SEs. Julian Cox of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia, gave a presentation on “Bacillus — A Two-faced Toxigenic Foodborne Foe.” Bacillus species can produce diarrhea toxin in proteinaceous foods and emetic toxins in starchy foods, with the production of toxin depending on the environment. The heat resistant emetic toxin is a non-ribosomally synthesized circular peptide that affects only humans and higher primates. Emetic toxin can be detected using cell culture assay or sperm movement assay. A prototype ELISA assay is in the development stage.

S31 — Setting the Science-based Agenda for Co-management of Watershed Quality and Produce Safety Rachel McEgan
Trevor Suslow introduced the symposium by stating that the interests of both the food safety and the environment must be taken into account when policies or decisions are being made about field management practices. It was noted that these are not ‘stand alone’ issues and should not be dealt with as such. The first speaker was Christina Fischer (The Nature Conservancy), who emphasized the importance of “striking a balance” between food safety and environmental concerns. This speaker discussed the issue of science-based risk management versus demands made by buyers based on perceived possible risk. The Leafy Greens Management Association requirements were compared to the requirements put forth by produce buyers. Luana Kiger (USDA) discussed the role of non-crop vegetation in protecting crops from contamination with human pathogens. Several points were made in favor of keeping non-crop vegetation adjacent to fields.

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Food Protection Trends - November 2010

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