Food Protection Trends - November/December 2021 - 600

JOHN H. SILLIKER LECTURE
We are All Working on the Same Puzzle
It was an honor and a privilege to present the Silliker Lecture.
In honor of Dr. Silliker, I will start with a quote from an article that he wrote.
The current status of the Salmonella problem, 10 years after publication of the report of
the Committee on Salmonella of the National Research Council, was reviewed. The incidence
of human salmonellosis has increased during this period. The major source of the Salmonella
problem in man still derives from foods of animal origin, especially poultry, beef and pork. Contaminated
products cause disease as the result of inadequate cooking or cross-contamination
of working surfaces in the kitchen environment. The epidemiology of human salmonellosis has
not changed during the past decade.1
Barbara J. Masters, DVM
Vice President, Regulatory
Policy, Food and Agriculture
Tyson Foods, Inc.
Washington, D.C., USA
Many of you are saying - yes that sounds about right. What is disappointing is that the
quote comes from the Journal of Food Protection - 1980. This tells me one of two things.
Either Dr. Silliker was a visionary, or the challenges and war on Salmonella began earlier than
many of us thought. Likely this just confirms both are true. I realize discussing Salmonella
in raw products, whether protein or produce, may be the " elephant " in the room. I will also
disclose that I do not have the answer to the challenge. I also should note that a lot has happened
since I had to submit my topic: there is a new petition to FSIS. There have been over
6000 comments on the petition. There is a new Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety -
and I know she has a passion for making improvements in this area. In fact, she shared this
passion at the special session " Regulatory Update on Food Safety. " However, I still am hopeful that my personal insights
may be helpful.
I offer a disclaimer that I am not wearing my Tyson hat, FSIS hat, OFW hat or my Partnership for Food Safety Education
hat when I offer these comments.
When I think about the Salmonella challenge, and I admit that is often, I sometimes feel like we are all sitting at this
huge table with a big puzzle. We are all working on our corner pieces. No one is reaching across the table to ask, " Do you
have any pieces with green grass on them? " " Do you have any blue-sky pieces? " We seem to sit in our own corners and
work madly on our section of the puzzle without looking up at the bigger project.
I have the unique perspective of having worked for the government, as a consultant, industry, and serving on the
board of directors for a consumer education group. I would like to offer a perspective from each of these areas and then
offer my personal challenge on making progress that has not yet been recorded for this pathogen vs. public health. Like
the puzzle, I sometimes feel each group only sees their own perspective and sometimes does not recognize the totality
of the work that is happening to reach the public health goals for Salmonella.
I am hopeful that as we each consider the efforts that are underway from different perspectives, we can all start to
see the totality of all the progress that is happening with regards to Salmonella.
FSIS Piece of the Puzzle
I worked for FSIS during the time Salmonella performance standards were first introduced. Many felt that the Agency
lost the ability to make progress with the Supreme Beef Processors case.
I step back to offer a short history lesson for the younger audience, non-protein or non-U.S. participants.
FSIS originally proposed the performance standard with " 3 strikes and you're out " as part of 1996 HACCP rule.
(1) If ongoing or targeted testing in an establishment indicated the performance standard was not being met... FSIS
conducted follow-up testing. Timing of the second tests was based on the establishment's response to the findings.
(2) If an establishment failed the second targeted series of FSIS-conducted tests... The establishment was required
to reassess its HACCP plan for the tested product, modifying the plan as necessary to achieve the Salmonella
performance standard.
1Food Prot. 1980 Apr;43(4):307-313. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-43.4.307.
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