Volume XXIII, Number 2, May 1999
Al B. Wagner
Associate Head, Extension Horticulture
I. Food Net Shows Overall Drop in 1998 Food Borne Illness
II. A Web of Deceit
III. Food Processors Meet in Corpus Christi
IV. Items of Interest
V. Rules & Regulations
VI. Coming Events
Announcements
TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF MILK, FOOD, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SANITARIANS (TAMFES) TO MEET IN AUSTIN
The Annual TAMFES meeting will be held at the OMNI Hotel in Austin June 7 - 9, 1999. They have an extensive program planned that will explore microbiological challenges, health concerns in natural disasters, dealing with crisis management, environmental challenges, as well as other timely topics for our industry. Specific questions can be directed to Fred Reimers at 210/938-5195.
ASSOCIATION OF FOOD AND DRUG OFFICIALS MEETING IN SAN ANTONIO
The Association of Food and Drug Officials will host their annual meeting at the Adams Mark Hotel in San Antonio June 6 - 9, 1999. For a registration form call (717) 757-2888 or fax them at (717) 755-8089. e-mail: <afdo@blazenet.net>.
News
FOOD NET SHOWS OVERALL DROP IN 1998 FOODBORNE ILLNESS*
*Reprinted from Institute of Food Science (IFT) "Science Communicators Newsletter." March, 1999.
Overall, cases of foodborne illness in the United States in 1998 declined when compared with the previous two years of data from the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network. In particular, incidence of salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis both declined by 14 percent from 1997 to 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on March 12. The drops in these illnesses may be due to the adoption of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points systems in U.S. meat and poultry processing plants, CDC said. Incidence of Salmonella Enteritidis infection decreased by 44 percent. Implementation of microbiologically-based egg quality-assurance programs and a decrease in percentage of poultry testing positive for the pathogen were named as possible reasons for the SE drop. Increases were observed for infections of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (by 22 percent from 1997 to 1998) and for shigellosis (by 13 percent from 1997 to 1998). Earlier in March, the U. S. Department of Agriculture announced that the incidence of Salmonella contamination in a small sample of U. S. meat and poultry products fell after the first year of HACCP implementation. The preliminary data do not represent a random sample of all domestic meat and poultry products. It is unlikely all reductions can be solely attributed to HACCP, USDA noted.
A WEB OF DECEIT*
*Provided by the Institute of Food Technologists. The article was written by Christine Gorman and was in the February 8, 1999 issue of "TIME Magazine."
Heard the one about the common shampoo ingredient that causes cancer? Or how about the epidemic of blindness among toddlers who accidentally get waterproof sunscreen in their eyes? These absurd fictions used to be the stock-in-trade of ninth-graders bent on frightening the younger kids. But now such tall tales are appearing on the Internet, and many adults are taking them seriously. Consider the latest electronic health scare about the artificial sweetener aspartame, which is found in everything from Equal to diet Coke. A widely disseminated e-mail by a 'Nancy Markle' links aspartame to Alzheimer's, birth defects, brain cancer, diabetes, Gulf War syndrome, lupus, multiple sclerosis and seizures. Right away, the long list warrants skepticism. Just as no single chemical cures everything, none causes everything. In this and similar cases, all the Nancy Markles of the world have to do to fabricate a health rumor is post it in some Usenet news groups and let ordinary folks, who may already distrust artificial products, forward it to all their friends and e-mail pals. I received several copies last week, as have many doctors and health organizations. When I searched Altavista for aspartame AND brain AND seizure AND sclerosis, I learned that Markle's message is almost identical to an anti-aspartame paper first penned under a different name in 1995. None of the specific allegations pans outs, however. Among the more outrageous claims:
+ Aspartame leads to 'methanol toxicity'. Not even close. Trace amounts of methanol exist naturally in many fruits and vegetables, and a tiny amount is released whenever the body digests aspartame. But there's four times more methanol in a glass of tomato juice than in a can of aspartame-sweetened soda, and our bodies have no trouble handling such a tiny amount.
+ Aspartame triggers headaches. Wrong again, says Susan Shiffman, a medical psychologist at Duke University who conducted a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 40 'aspartame sensitive' people. A little probing often revealed the real trouble. One woman, who often ate peanuts with her diet soda, was allergic to peanuts. Another subject drank too much caffeine.
+ Aspartame is responsible for the recent upsurge in brain-cancer rates. So how do you explain that the trend dates back to 1973, eight years before aspartame was approved in the U. S.?
Curiously, Markle didn't warn against aspartame's single known health risk. Folks with an uncommon genetic disorder called phenylketonuria shouldn't consume the sweetener because they cannot metabolize one of its ingredients. Before you decide to believe or, worse, forward an e-mail with serious health claims, do a little checking.
Start on the Web with: <urbanlegends.miningco.com>, which catalogues the more persistent rumors. Then go to the reliable health sites, like: <mayohealth.org> (for general health), <www.medhelp.prg> (especially good for cardiology), <www.oncolink.org>, or <cancernet.nci.nih.gov> (for cancer) or <www.navigator.tufts.edu> (for nutrition). Otherwise, you might get caught in a web of confusion.
FOOD PROCESSORS MEET IN CORPUS CHRISTI
The Texas Food Processors Association held its annual meeting at the Omni Hotel in Corpus Christi. Attendees commented that this was one of the best slates of speakers and topics that they had heard. The program was started by Dan Sowards, Director of the Manufactured Foods Division of the Texas Department of Health. He informed the audience about the idea of a ăfully integrated National Food Safety System.ä This is not about a single safety agency, but rather an idea to insure that everyone is working from the same (uniform) regulations. The Association of Food and Drug Officials is trying to make this happen. He mentioned that there were not a lot of new rules, but one involving holding refrigerated products at 41 degrees F. instead of 45 degrees F. has been implemented. Other topics discussed were 1) the need for trace-back of products implicated in food-borne illness outbreaks; 2 recalls; 3) strengthening import regulations; and 4) moving FSIS inspection out to distribution points.
Layne Berman, president of Berman and Associates led a very stimulating session on labor laws and regulations. He predicted more age and sexual discrimination charges in the future. Two main things he stressed were: have employee / employment policies in written form, with rules and documentation; and train your employees about what constitutes sexual harassment. Many questions were fielded from the audience. John Mento, Director of Purchasing for Advanced Spice and Trading Inc., finished the Wednesday afternoon session with a very interesting presentation entitled ăSpices: From Field to Processor.ä For over 20 years, Mento has traveled the world as a spice buyer and trader for companies such as Griffith Labs, McKeany Flavell, Asia Pacific, and Advanced Spice & Trading. During his travels, John compiled a fascinating slide presentation of growing conditions, harvesting methods, processing, and storage facilities in different countries, emphasizing the differences in the quality of like botanicals as well as the reasons for their pricing differences. He covered the standards of acceptance by the FDA at the ports of entry, and expressed his concern for spices and herbs not irradiated nor treated with ethylene oxide before use in various food production processes. Cathy Meister, Vice President/Marketing of CIO Services Electronic Data Systems in Plano, led off the program on Thursday morning. She said to prepare for Y2K the same way you would prepare for a bad storm: stock up on supplies, water, etc., pull out extra cash and be prepared for short-term power outages. Meister doesnât expect worldwide panic or people in the streets with guns. However, she noted that many entities are still very far behind, and some simply do not have the time needed to finish their repairs prior to the new millennium. The IRS, for example, is way behind. She says to make copies of all your financial records. Asia, due to a variety of cultural reasons, is largely in denial, pretending that the problem doesnât exist. You should hoard any supplies, ingredients, or machinery you purchase from Asia prior to the forthcoming January 1st. If you havenât done so already, check all your computers and all machinery containing embedded chips. In-house, you can simply tell your computer that today is June 8, 2000, for example, then run a program; youâll know pretty quickly if it wonât work. (Be sure to go through several processes, like printing reports, checks, estimating jobs, etc.) For machinery, youâll probably have to check with the vendor.
One attendee really wanted to know just whose fault this whole Y2K thing was. Cathy replied with a story. While EDS programmers were reviewing each line of code in one of their major programs, one of the programmers found that her father had written the program over 30 years ago! They simply had no idea back then that those pioneering programs written on â60s-era mainframes would still be in use in the year 2000. Today, we can hold a $1,000 laptop computer in our hand that has more computing power than the multimillion dollar mainframes had back then, yet weâre still using some of those old software programs as the core of the current programs. No one foresaw this situation, so they didnât plan for an event that would occur more than 30 years hence. Nonetheless, ăhere we are,ä so make your plans accordingly. EDS has set up a web site containing information that you will need to prepare for Y2K. The address is: <http://www.eds.com/vendor2000> Rhona Applebaum, Vice President of Scientific Affairs with the National Food Processors Association in Washington, D.C., gave a very thorough overview of the food industryâs future going into the 21st Century. She focused on food safety and environmental issues that will impact the industry. Her remarks included a look at tomorrowâs consumer. She predicted that there will be low unemployment and higher wages earned, but cautious spending. Dr. Peter Korsten, CEO of Impact Training, presented an overview of his training program known as ăThe Bullet Proof Manager.ä Leader-managers need to know where they are going, how they plan to get there, and commit to take their people with them. This is a daunting responsibility! Managers must develop their own skills, and simultaneously assume the role of mentor and coach to develop their people. They must become holistic managers, and build winning teams. This concept embraces three integrated layers of managerial responsibility: operational management, tactical business planning, and long-range strategic planning and thinking. The question is how do busy managers find the time and resources to help them broaden their own skills and grow their people and organizations? The Bullet Proof Manager training program is one possible effective solution. This program has been empirically researched, and helps organizations develop their managers to be more effective in 24 skills that are critical to their companyâs growth. They include: leadership, team building, negotiating skills, empowerment, motivation, management strategies, presentation and speaking skills, customer service, and strategic planning.
Items of Interest
DR. McLELLAN NEW DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTE OF FOOD SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING JULY 1
Dr. Mark McLellan currently serves as Chairman of the Department of Food Science and Technology at Cornell University in Geneva, New York, and on a rotating basis, he serves as Director and Associate Director of the Cornell Institute of Food Science. He has been a member of the Cornell University faculty since 1981 and holds the academic rank of Professor of Food Science. Dr. McLellan received his B.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He is a recognized specialist in the use of processing technologies for fruit and vegetables and an expert in the area of computer technology and applications for the food industry. As an Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) member, Dr. McLellan serves on the IFT Executive Committee, is one of IFT's Food Science Communicators and is an IFT presidential nominee. He is past chairman of the IFT Fruit and Vegetable Division and member of the Food Engineering and Sensory Evaluation Divisions of IFT.
BUILDING A HOME BACTERIA DETECTOR
Matsushita Electric, of Osaka, Japan, is developing a home kitchen appliance to enable consumers to identify foodborne pathogenic bacteria in about 10 minutes, New Scientist reported in its April 10 issue. An experimental model successfully detected Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157 in that time period. The process is as uncomplicated as a pregnancy test, developers said. A solution of food is poured into a tank. With the use of a voltage gradient, bacteria in the food are pulled through a membrane into a separate, smaller tank. Bacteria are concentrated by a factor of 100 in about 10 minutes, the magazine reported. Using dye-labeled antibodies and computer imaging, consumers are able to view on a computer monitor the Ahe objectivity of the Codex A concentrated bacteria, which have differing hues depending on their levels. The company is aiming for concentration levels to a factor of 10,000 and expects the appliance to sell for about $1,000 and be about as big as three blenders.
SUPPLEMENTAL FACTS PANEL NOW REQUIRED
Effective March 23, labels of dietary supplement products are required to include a 'Supplemental Facts' panel and a complete list of ingredients. Facts to be listed are the manufacturer's suggesting serving size, information on nutrients present at significant levels, and other dietary ingredients in the product, such as botanicals or amino acids. FDA's news release is available at <http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/NEW00678.html>
Rules and Regulations
HACCP PROPOSED RULE / EXTENSION OF COMMENT PERIOD
The first proposed rule would generally require the use of HACCP systems in the processing of fruit or vegetable juices and juice-containing beverages. FDA proposed to exclude the following activities from the scope of regulations: Harvesting, picking, or transporting raw agricultural ingredients of juice products, without otherwise engaging in processing; Operation of a retail establishment (e.g., grocery store, juice bar, restaurant, some cider mills); and Operation of a very small business making juice on its premises, provided that juice products are sold to consumers and/or other retail establishments, and the establishment sell no more then 40,000 gallons of juice products per year. FDA has proposed to require, as a prerequisite to the implementation of HACCP, that juice processors maintain and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) addressing sanitation conditions and practices before, during, and after juice product processing. Although there are areas of overlap between SOPs and HACCP, SOPs technically differ from HACCP. SOPs are intended to ensure proper sanitation throughout the food processing chain, while HACCP is intended to control food safety during food production and distribution. FDA has not proposed to require that SOPs be in writing. Processors would be required to maintain records of their monitoring and corrective activity. These records would have to be made available for FDA review and copying, upon request. Each juice processor would be required to develop a written hazard analysis to identify any food hazards that are reasonably likely to occur for each product processed, and to identify measures that can be used to control relevant hazards. The hazard analysis must address food hazards that can be introduced within or outside a processing plant, including hazards that may occur before, during, and after harvest. The hazard analysis would be required to be developed by an individual trained in HACCP principles. Whenever a hazard analysis reveals that one or more food hazards would be reasonably likely to occur during processing, a juice processor would be required to develop a written HACCP plan specific to each location where products are processed and each type of juice processed. Juice processors would be required to keep and verify HACCP records. FDA has also proposed to require that HACCP systems produce, at a minimum, a five-log (i.e., 100,000-fold) reduction in the 'pertinent microorganism' for a juice product, for a period at least as long as the shelf life of the product, stored under normal and moderate abuse conditions. ( A 'pertinent microorganism' would be defined as the most resistant microorganism of public health significance that is likely to occur in a juice.) The proposed standard is consistent with a recommendation of the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF), and reflects a safety standard equivalent to pasteurization.
FDA's proposal would stagger implementation of any final HACCP regulations as follows: For large businesses÷1 year after publication of a final rule; For small businesses (i.e., employing fewer than 500 persons)÷2 years after publication; For very small business (i.e., retail establishment with total annual sales of less than $500,000, or total food sales of less than $50,000, or less than an average of 100 employees and less than 100,000 units of juice sold in the U. S.)÷three years after publication. FDA announces that it would accept comments until Jan. 16, 1999 for its juice HACCP proposed rule, to allow information and data presented in the technical scientific workshops (discussed below), and to gather more information on the five-log pathogen reduction standard.
FINAL RULE REQUIRING WARNING STATEMENT ON UNPROCESSED JUICE PRODUCTS - EXTRA TIME GIVEN FOR COMPLIANCEU
FDA finalized a rule requiring a warning statement on unprocessed juices on July 8, 1998. The warning statement is intended to be an interim safety measure, pending the implementation of HACCP systems for juice products, and to address certain products excluded from the scope of the agency's proposed HACCP regulations. Specifically, the final rule would require the following warning statement on the principal display panel of the information panel of packaged juice products that are not processed in a manner to produce at least a 5-log reduction in the pertinent microorganism for a period at least as long as the shelf life of the product when stored under normal and moderate abuse conditions:
WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and, therefore, may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.