Food Protection Trends - November/December 2021 - 602

Research
While I have not worked in academia or research - I have been involved in research from both government and
industry perspectives. Certainly, more and more science is becoming available supporting the control of Salmonella
through quantitative means6,7,8
of organism. The USDA National Advisory Committee opined on this as early as 2004.9
as well as possibly a combination of quantitative and highly pathogenic groups
I think about the slide
Dr. Brashears shared with colored birds based on prevalence. My mind then overlays those same birds with a
symbol for highly pathogen serotypes. I am energized by the power these tools applied together can bring to the table.
There was an outstanding session at IAFP 2021 where we heard from three companies that are applying this
research across chicken, turkey, pork and beef. The work they are doing includes pre-harvest, risk assessment
and process control. This work is in fact impacting how companies are looking at Salmonella today.10
While my personal work has been in meat and poultry, I would also be remiss if I did not mention the sessions11
and posters presenting research on Salmonella in produce at IAFP 2021 as well.
There have been laboratory advances, risk assessment advances and the work continue to be conducted
in this area. The Agricultural Research Service is one group doing projects on this.12
In fact Dr. Kim Smith, the
Director for Food Safety Programs at ARS has indicated that of the approximately 50 food safety projects ARS is
working on, 28 are dedicated to Salmonella. This group is working with FSIS and industry to look for meaningful
research that can be applied and make a difference.
FSIS 2021 Sampling plan includes work to update their enumeration methods. Laboratories are continuing to
develop rapid methods that can be deployed at the plant so real time decisions can be made. I can't help but wonder
if work such as this may even prevent transient changes on farm where industry vaccinates for a Salmonella
that is less pathogenic to reduce prevalence - inviting a more pathogenic strain to take its place.
I should also mention here information shared in a session I attended this year that reminded all of us that
whatever solutions are developed need to be applicable for all sizes of industry. The comment was made regarding
attribution and the fact that there is an on-going outbreak attributed to backyard chickens. Producers and packers
of all sizes need to be able to benefit from any technology to prevent or reduce pathogens.
Note: It is also important to highlight that attribution and better attribution are also an important part of the overall
puzzle. This is just not an area I have worked or contributed. Those working on better methods for attribution
have an important part of the overall puzzle for it to be completed.
Consumer Education
I put on my hat from the Partnership for Food Safety Education.13
Work is going on to update consumer
messaging. This work is to ensure consumers know what they need to do to ensure safe handling of products.
There are food safety education conference every two years to help participants gain insights into how to change
consumer behavior to improve food safety practices. Work has been done to add information food safety steps to
recipe cards. This includes hand washing and use of a thermometer. I should add that FSIS also held a consumer
education meeting in 2020.14
cooking.
More and more efforts are underway to ensure less cross-contamination or underConsumer
Advocates
It is important to recognize that we are all consumers. I mentioned that a group of consumer advocates submitted
a petition in early 2021. I personally reviewed the petition and even wondered if some of the ideas proposed
may have unintended negative consequences, not because this was the desired outcome, but in absence of the
full picture one may not understand what the result will be. However, I want to credit the groups that submitted
this petition. They have been reaching out and collaborating with stakeholders. I know they truly desire to improve
public health related to Salmonella; the goal shared by each of us.
4J. Emilio Esteban, RT14: Incentives for Preharvest Control of Zoonoses in Food Animals. IAFP 2021.
5T5: Technical Session 5: Produce. IAFP 2021.
6https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_serial&pid=1516-635X&lng=en&nrm=iso.
7
8
Sampedro, F., S. J. Wells, J. B. Bender, and C. W. Hedberg. 2019. Developing a risk management framework to improve public health outcomes by enumerating
Salmonella in ground turkey. Epidemiology and Infection 147, e69, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095026881800328X.
Lambertini, E., Ruzante, J. M., & Kowalcyk, B. B. (2020). The Public Health Impact of Implementing a Concentration-Based Microbiological Criterion.
for Controlling Salmonella in Ground Turkey. Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13635.
9https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/regulations/advisory-committees/nacmcf-reports/nacmcf-reports.
10S35: We Quantified, Now What? Actual Salmonella Quantification Approaches Utilized in the Protein Industry Today. IAFP 2021.
11T5: Technical Session: Produce.
12https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/ott/CRADA%20Opp%20Salmonella%20Detection%20Dr.%20Dayna%20M.%20Harhay%20%206.10.2020.pdf.
13https://www.fightbac.org/.
14https://www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/events-meetings/food-safety-consumer-outreach-and-education-today-and-future.
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602 Food Protection Trends November/December

https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_serial&pid=1516-635X&ing=en&nrm=iso https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S095026881800328X https://www.doi.org/10.1111/risa.13635 https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis17topics/regulations/advisory-committees/nacmcf-reports/nacmcf-reports/nacmcf-reports https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/ott/CRADA%20Opp%20Salmonella%20Detection%20Dr.%20M.%20Harhay%20%206.10.2020pdf https://www.fightbac.org/ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/events-meetings/food-safety-consumer-outreach-and-education-today-andfuture

Food Protection Trends - November/December 2021

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