Food Protection Trends - September 2011 - (Page 584)

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN FOOD SAFETY Federal Partners Develop Tools for Food-emergency Readiness T he U.S. Food and Drug Administration and federal partners have released the Food Related Emergency Exercise Boxed (FREE-B) set, a Web-based collection of scenarios that will help government regulators, public health organizations and the food industry test their readiness for food-related emergencies, such as a human health emergency caused by an unintentional contamination of produce with E. coli O157:H7. FREE-B is a compilation of five scenarios designed to help test and develop food emergency response plans, protocols and procedures. It will help food and agriculture stakeholders and emergency preparedness planners collaborate better with each other, neighboring jurisdictions, the food industry and federal agencies during food emergencies. “Being prepared for any kind of emergency is critical to a rapid and effective response,” said Michael R. Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods. “FREE-B helps people think about their own responsibilities in a time of crisis and how to best work with others involved.” The FDA worked with experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to develop FREE-B. “It is critical for decision-makers involved in a food safety incident to appreciate the varied roles each must play to reduce foodborne illness, from data collection and analysis to traceback efforts to communicating with the public about how to protect themselves,” said Beth P. Bell, M.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. “FREE-B will give stakeholders such an opportunity.” FREE-B is consistent with the Food Safety Modernization Act’s call for coordination among federal food-safety agencies and the development of resources to help local and state agencies involved in helping to ensure the safety of our nation’s food supply. Through participation in any of the scenarios, stakeholders will: Cultivate professional skills by learning how to work with dynamic, ad-hoc teams facing critical food emergency incidents that threaten the safety of the public Assess readiness to effectively address a food contamination incident: Define roles and interactions with partners. Understand the purpose and objectives of federal, state, local and industry organizations and how each provides resources to address different aspects of food contamination scenarios. Take appropriate, timely and effective steps to remediate emergency situations that are caused by intentional or unintentional acts. FREE-B takes a “whole-community” approach to preparedness. The term “whole-community” refers to the need for cross-discipline preparedness training for large-scale incidents through regular exercise and training, evaluation and plan revision. NSF International and Paster Training Partner on Retail Food Safety Training and Certification SF International’s Global Food Safety Division and Paster Training Inc. have partnered to offer a combination of training and consulting services to the foodservice and retail food industries. These service offerings are increasingly important in light of new federal legislation to further protect the nation's food supply. NSF International is a public health organization with food safety supply chain and retail expertise in auditing and certification services, and Paster Training provides food safety and alcohol management training and consulting for many leading food retailers and operators. By combining this expertise, NSF and Paster Training can offer a comprehensive food safety and training solution that meets the needs of today’s retail food sector. NSF International’s food safety services include: training, global food safety certification, HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) consulting and operations management to verify compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act and strengthen food safety practices. NSF also offers training courses for supply chain food safety programs such as: • SQF (Safe Quality Food) • BRC (British Retail Consortium) • FSSC (Food Safety System Certification) 22000 • Advanced HACCP • Seafood HACCP, and • Behavior-based Compliance and Principles of Internal Auditing. N 584 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | SEPTEMBER 2011

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

Food Protection Trends - September 2011
Contents
Sustaining Members
Food for Thought from Your President
Commentary from the Executive Director
Epidemiological Approaches to Food Safety
Localized Chemical Decontamination of Cattle Hides to Reduce Microbial Loads and Prevalence of Foodborne Pathogens
General Interest Paper – Implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act
Call for 2012 Secretary Nominations
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 2011