Food Protection Trends - November/December 2024 - 502

COMMITTEE AND PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT GROUP MINUTES
Gabriella Strocko, Yuan Su, Manish Thapaliya, Francis Torko, Mathilde
Trudel-Ferland, Grace Tung, Branko Velebit, Mariana Villarreal Silva, Jan
Vinje, Michael Weber, Jacquelina Woods, Qianru Yang, Kang Zhou.
Number of Attendees: 76.
Meeting Called to Order: Sunday, July 14th, 2024, 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
Minutes Recording Secretary: Claudia Pegueros.
Old Business: The minutes from IAFP 2023 PDG meeting were approved
with no modifications.
New Business: Four main topics were on the agenda. IAFP Announcements:
The Notices from the IAFP Executive Board (about number of attendees,
record membership this year, the role of the PDGs, publication in the
journals of the IAFP association and the possibility of suggest topics for
special issues, PDGs to suggest webinars, ways to get involved in the
association, IAFP App, thanks to the California Affiliate and the Local
Arrangements Committee and the existence of a welcome booth and a
quiet room among others) were provided by Kristen Gibson. There were no
updates from the Student PDG. The Anti-Trust Guidelines were reviewed
(can't dos) and additional safety announcements were provided by Kristen
Gibson. These updates and announcements included the following:
Highlights from the IAFP 2024 program relevant to the PDG: Kristen/
Sonia reviewed accepted sponsored or co-sponsored proposals including
symposia and roundtables. There was also a note about numerous posters
and technical sessions that will be presented relevant to the Viral and
Parasitic Foodborne Diseases PDG.
Update on foodborne parasitic diseases: Dr. Susan Leonard, U.S. FDA.
Genotyping Cyclospora with Improved Sensitivity and Genetic Resolution -
Dr. Leonard presented a new targeted sequencing (TAS) approach needed
for C. cayetanensis since a previous method (MLST with 8 markers) was not
sensitive enough for detection of the parasite in produce. To increase the
resolution, a bait capture step was included. A first version with 52 markers
was shown to be able to differentiate the source of oocysts in clinical and
produce samples with low levels of oocysts. The method showed improved
resolution versus the MLST in both clinical samples and produce. Seeding
of produce directly with clinical samples was able to relate the source of
contamination, which is of critical importance for traceback investigations
in outbreaks. A second version with 63 markers has also been developed.
The future work involves a genotype reference dataset including
international samples.
Dr. Jenny Maloney, USDA, ARS. Enhancing detection of protozoa in fresh
produce - Dr. Maloney introduced the importance of several protozoa
(Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and Cyclospora cayetanensis)
in foodborne and waterborne outbreaks. She focused on the many
undetermined cases of Giardia spp., and the possibility of multiple routes
of contamination with the parasite. This parasite is zoonotic, complex,
underreported, and has a wide range of hosts which means that a One
Health approach needs to be followed. Dr. Maloney focused on the
diagnostic of the parasite and the need of methods that allow to detect
species/assemblage composition within a sample. She showed data
from a study using next generation sequencing (NGS) to detect mixed
assemblages in fecal samples in cattle that support the superiority of
NGS versus Sanger sequencing. Dr. Maloney showed NGS results in fresh
produce (Romaine lettuce) unseeded and seeded with cysts of Giardia
spp. (5, 20, 100, and 1000 cysts) with a limit of detection of as few as 20
cysts/25 g of Romaine lettuce.
Update on viral foodborne diseases: Dr. Kali Kniel, University of Delaware.
Summary and discussion of the JEMRA meeting on foodborne virus risk -
Dr. Kniel presented the summary of the joint FAO/WHO risk assessment
meeting on viruses. After a brief introduction on the objectives of
the meeting, she presented two different meetings/parts. In the first
meeting after a careful review of the literature on surveillance, the expert
solicitation ranked the main viruses for their global importance (norovirus,
hepatitis A, others) as well as their main sources (e.g., prepared foods,
frozen berries, and shellfish). They discussed how the role of each source
was differential by regions. They included the study of Hepatitis E virus in
pork and wild game, as well as other emerging viruses (e.g., Nipah, Viral
tick encephalitis) and detection methods and limitations. The use of viral
indicators (in water, shellfish) was discussed with a lack of consensus.
In the meeting/part 2, there was a focus on prevention in shellfish and
fresh and frozen produce. Possible interventions, treatment for irrigation
water and produce treatment in prepared and RTE foods were discussed,
including biosecurity measures or possible inactivation techniques. Data
gaps on detection, capacity building and surveillance were mentioned.
In preparation for IAFP 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio, July 27 30, 2025,
roundtable and symposia topics were suggested and discussed. There was
a fire alarm in the middle of the discussion session and the meeting was
interrupted. Therefore, there was no time for many topics to be discussed.
Topics suggested included: Sessions on emerging virus, including high
pathogenic avian influenza, Handwashing: new formulation advances and
education at end-user level for viruses, Produce wash waster sanitizers
and efficacy against viruses: use, adequate concentration and types of
sanitizers, and education about lack of efficacy against viruses at current
allowable concentrations. Bioinformatics for both virus and parasites,
Methods validation for foodborne parasites, Artificial intelligence and
diagnostic measures for parasites and virus, Effect of the environment and
extreme weather events on the prevalence of parasites (and viruses).
Recommendations to the Executive Board: None.
Next Meeting Date: Sunday, July 27, 2025, Cleveland, Ohio.
Meeting Adjourned: 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
Chairperson Name: Kristen Gibson
Water Safety and Quality PDG
Number of Attendees: Dan Weller (Chair), Claire Murphy (Vice Chair), Zeynal
Topalcengiz, Alireza Abbaspourrad, Hiroki Abe, Niam Abeysiriwardena,
Ana Allende, Brienna Anderson, Avigaile Armstrong, Samir Assar, Laura
Bautista, Rebecca Bell, Elizabeth Bihn, Anna Brover, William Burkhardt,
Kellie Burris, Roberto Canchola, Erdogan Ceylan, Mahesh Chapagain, Zoila
Chevez, Changsun Choi, Michael Ciaramella, Sarah Cope, Polly Courtney,
Mauricio Durigan, Yuan Fang, Sanjit Fernandes, Connie Fisk, Solomon
Gebru, Leon Gorris, Eduardo Gutierrez Rodriguez, Jeffrey Hall, Diana Hao,
Jouman Hassan, Jessica Hofstetter, Stephen Hughes, Annalisa Hultberg,
Sanja Ilic, Keith Ito, Timothy Jackson, Megan Jensen, Ryu Kanghee, Julie A
Kase, Issmat Kassem, Bijay Khajanchi, David Kingsley, Greg Komar, Shige
Koseki, Alison Lacombe, Elisabetta Lambertini, Devin LaPolt, Michael
Michel, Marlee Mims, Amie Minor, Juan Moreira, Anne-laure Moyne, Sarah
Murphy, Mehran Niazi, Sergio Nieto-Montenegro, Isabella Oliveira Tosta,
Alda Pires, Monica Ponder, Gale Prince, Victoria Pruente, Rawane Raad,
Kruti Ravaliya, Loandi Richter, Rachel Rodriguez, Cathy Rubin, Robert
Salter, Keith Schuetz, Vicki-Lynne Scott, Mandy Sedlak, Marion Shepherd
Jr, Calvin Slaughter, Don Stoeckel, Phillip Tocco, Avinash Tope, Socrates
Trujillo, Claire Umstead, Nicholas Wagner, Tamara Walsky, Rory Wang, Anett
WInkler, Jacquelina Woods, Zirui Ray Xiong.
502 Food Protection Trends November/December
Food Protection Trends - November/December 2024

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