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70, 120 and 150 participants in 1st, 2nd and 3rd Webinars. Participants were asked to pay $25 to cover cost. He asked if PDG members see value in Webinars and the amount charged to cover costs. Members were to provide feedback on this to the IAFP Board. He counseled the PDG leadership to make sure that in the annual report to the IAFP Board, the content is entirely made up of actionable items, not just general recommendation or narrative about the meeting. Comments from IafP Program Committee: Dr. Bailey commented that he and the IAFP Board were aware of the concern by the PDG leadership and members regarding the Program Committee’s lack of acceptance of symposia recommendations last year and the noticeable lack of dairy symposium topics in the 2010 Program. This issue has caused some PDG members to attend IFT this year in lieu of IAFP. The Chair noted that it is important to have a balance between pure research presentations and applied research/application presentations, which seems to be lacking this year. Dr. Bailey stated the Board had instructed the Program Committee and the new Program Chair (who was in the room) to have a more balanced program in the future between research and applied topics and to work with the various PDGs on submissions which had merit but might need more polishing. The Program Chair stated he would work with the leadership and members of the Dairy Quality & Safety PDG to assist in strengthening program proposals so the 2011 Annual Meeting program contains an appropriate amount of applied and dairy subject matter. The same commitment was expressed for proposals on processing sanitation from any PDG. • Action Item: The PDG endorsed a member recommendation to request the IAFP staff consult with all PDG Chairs on the final schedule for the Annual Meeting PDG meetings prior to publication. This was the result of the Sanitation and Dairy Quality & Safety PDG being held at the same time for the past few years and many members of each have to choose one or the other. Action Item: The PDG endorsed requesting IAFP staff to schedule one or two conference calls per year between Annual Meetings with the Chairs and Deputy Chairs of the various PDGs to get updates and allow for sharing of information and to better coordinate activities and reduce duplicate efforts and to coordinate program submissions.

information on the dangers of consuming unpasteurized milk. She and her husband ultimately sued the farm producer of the raw milk, with the help of Marler/Clark, a well-known food safety law firm. She is currently an advocate of the dangers of raw milk consumption and a public speaker on this issue. Ms. Martin stated that switching her son to pasteurized goat’s milk appears to have solved some of her son’s behavioral problems that appear to also be addressed by feeding him raw cow’s milk. Her message recapped the last year where both the IAFP Dairy Quality & Safety PDG and the American Veterinarian Medical Association (AVMA) initiated efforts to develop a foundation for better public information on the dangers of raw milk consumption. AVMA took the lead and with input from PDG liaison members Dr. Ron Schmidt and the Chair, developed a Web site that now provides a balance to the extensive Internet misinformation found on Web sites promoting the consumption of raw milk. The Web site address is www.realrawmilkfacts.com. After a review of some of the information on the Web site, Mary played a victim impact video from the Web site on her family’s experience with her son’s illness. This one of many personal family stories captured as videos on the Web site. • Action Item: PDG members recommended that the leadership work with IAFP staff and the IAFP Board of Directors to encourage the use of this Web site among IAFP members and that it be added as a link to IAFP affiliate Web sites. Action Item: PDG member Fred Weber suggested the PDG submit a recommendation for the public to avoid drinking unpasteurized raw milk to the IAFP Program Committee as one of the 100 Food Safety Tips to be released at the IAFP 2011Annual Meeting. Action Item: The Chair was requested to work with the leadership of NADRO to encourage passage of a resolution opposing the legalization of raw milk sales for human consumption.

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old business: a. PDG members Lori Ledenbach and Rudy Westervelt shared the title of their symposia and the date and times for the two program ideas accepted by the Program Committee for the 2010 Annual Meeting. Raw Milk Subcommittee Update: The Chair expressed a need for new energy for this PDG subcommittee as it was somewhat inactive in the last year. He also recommended that the subcommittee leadership schedule at least 3—4 conference calls per year. A number of PDG members either volunteered or were volunteered to become members of the Raw Milk Subcommittee: Dr. Christine Bruhn, Dr. Matt Taylor, Dave Blomquist, Steve Murphy, Rudy Westvelt, Larry Stinson, Dr. P.C. Vasavada, Margerie Davidson and Dennis Gaalswyk. • Action Item: Chair to confirm with IAFP staff after the Annual Meeting the publication status of the “Listeria Guideline” so it is publicized and available to IAFP members and the general public. Action Item: The Chair is to work with Dawn Terrell to finalize poster content and layout on controlling and avoiding Listeria contamination in dairy plants.

IafP foundation Donation: Gale Prince (Head of IAFP Foundation) spoke about donations to the IAFP foundation as a memorial for PDG members that passed away. Memorials can be done on one-time basis through scholarship funds or can be on an ongoing basis. Although the purpose of the donation can be specified, putting limitations on small donations need to be done with care to avoid creating financial difficulties for the Foundation and IAFP staff that has to manage the Fund. Dr. Bailey added that donation for the Foundation can be made via IAFP silent auction. student PDG: Student PDG representatives spoke about student PDG activities and an ongoing fundraising effort through sales of T shirts. Dairy PDG members were encouraged by the Chair to support this fund raising effort. Guest speaker on raw Milk Consumption: Mary Martin served as the guest speaker to provide a personal viewpoint on the dangers of human raw milk consumption. Mary spoke about her family’s difficult experience with their adopted son after feeding him raw milk from a certified raw milk producer in California. Her seven year old son became seriously ill with E. coli O157:H7 and was in intensive care for 2 months. She spoke about the lack of balanced information about pros and cons of consumption of raw milk and the need to have

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There was no discussion on updating the PDG’s Web site.

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http://www.realrawmilkfacts.com

Food Protection Trends - November 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - November 2010