EdNet - January 2012
EdNet, the National Food Safety Educator’s Network, is a monthly, multi-agency electronic news journal from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). EdNet provides up-to-date information about food safety and nutrition programs and activities for educators, consumer advocates, government officials, and industry representatives.
If you have questions or comments about this issue of EdNet, send e-mail to the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA).
In this issue:
Advisories, Alerts, and Warnings
Resources for Educators
- USDA Launches Online Export Library to Help Facilitate International Marketing of Eggs
- USDA Awards Grant to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for E. coli Research to Help Reduce Public Health Risks
- USDA Seeks to Modernize Poultry Inspection in the United States
- USDA Seeks Comments on Revisions to Food Container Standards
- USDA Streamlines Animal and Animal Product Import Regulations
- Obama Administration Releases Food Safety Tips, New Report on Efforts to Protect Consumers
- FDA/CFSAN’s Nutrition Facts Label Programs and Materials
- Michael R. Taylor, Deputy Commissioner of Foods’ Blog on Gulf Seafood Safety
- Protect Youngest and Oldest Relatives from Foodborne Illness When Preparing Chitterlings (FSIS)
- Food Safety Epidemiology Capacity in State Health Departments — United States, 2010 – MMWR, Volume 60, Number 50
- Blog: Resolve to Be Food Safer in the New Year
- Agricultural Research Magazine, January 2012 – Vol. 60, No. 1
- New FSIS Podcasts
Meetings, Conferences, and Workshops
- FDA Announces Dietetics and Nutrition Webinar Co-Sponsored with the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN)
- USDA to Hold Public Meeting to Address Agenda Items for the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Animal Feeding
- Proposed Rule to Streamline Generic Labeling Approval Processes (FSIS)
- Register for Webinar on Nutrition Labeling Rule (FSIS)
- Regulatory Webinar Available on Recalls of Products With Undeclared Allergens (FSIS)
- The 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum
People in the News
Industry
- Maine Company Holds Cold Smoked Salmon Product after FDA Order
- FDA: Carbendazim in Orange Juice Products
- FDA Testing Orange Juice Imports for Carbendazim, Notifies Industry
- FDA: A FREE-B That Really Pays Back
- Final Update on Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Whole Cantaloupes
- FDA: FSMA One Year Later
- Help for Dealing with Plant Emergencies Made Available in Korean (FSIS)
- FDA Publishes Final Guidance on the Egg Safety Rule
- FDA: Chicago-area Sandwich Manufacturer Agrees to Stop Production
- FSMA: Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance
- FSIS Policy Updates
Advisories, Alerts, and Warnings
USDA Food Safety Tips for Areas Affected by Severe Storms and Tornadoes
On January 23, 2012, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued recommendations for affected residents in the Southeast to minimize the potential for foodborne illnesses due to the aftermath of the weekend's devastating storms and tornadoes.
Read this FSIS news release:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_012312_01/index.asp
Resources for Educators
New FSIS Podcast
Tune in to podcasts where food safety specialists provide consumers with advice and up to date information on how to prevent foodborne illness through the safe handling, preparation and storage of meat, poultry, and processed egg products. FSIS has released the following new podcast in English, Spanish, and ASL videocast:
- Food Safety At Home:
- Smoking a Turkey Safely -- January 25, 2012
Check out this podcast:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_&_events/Food_Safety_at_Home_Podcasts/index.asp (English)
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/En_Espanol/Podcasts_SP/index.asp (Spanish)
Videocast in American Sign Language:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_&_events/SignFSIS/index.asp
For other food safety podcasts:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_&_events/Podcasts/index.asp
Visit FSIS’ Food Safety page on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/USDAFoodSafety
Meetings, Conferences, and Workshops
USDA to Hold Public Meeting to Address Agenda Items for the 19th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems
On September 27, 2011, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it is holding a public meeting to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items, as well as to draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 19th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS). The CCFICS will meet in Cairns, Australia from October 17 through November 21, 2011. The FSIS public meeting will be held on October 4, 2011, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the South Building at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 1160-S, Washington, D.C. 20520.
For more information, visit the FSIS website at:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_092711_01/index.asp
Documents and agenda items related to the 19th Session of the CCFICS will be accessible at the Codex website at:
http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/current.jsp
USDA Announces Webinars for Nutritional Labeling
FSIS is hosting a series of webinars to provide guidance on the upcoming rule on nutrition labeling of single ingredient meat and poultry products and ground or chopped meat and poultry products, which will take effect on January 1, 2012. The second webinar of the series will be held on October 12 at 2 p.m. ET. Subsequent webinars will be held November 8 and December 13.
To access the webinars, log onto
https://connect16.uc.att.com/usda/meet/?ExEventID=85277207
and follow the on-screen instructions. For questions, contact Kristin Goodwin at (301) 504-0878 or kristin.goodwin@fsis.usda.gov.
National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection to Meet on Pre-harvest Measures
On September 15, 2011, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a two-day public meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) to review and discuss agency pre-harvest and validation performance measures.
Read this news release:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_091511_01/index.asp
National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods to Hold Public Meetings
On September 12, 2011, the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) is holding public meetings on September 27 through 30, 2011.
Read this announcement for more details:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_091211_01/index.asp
Industry
Improving FDA’s Efforts to Achieve an Integrated Food Safety System and Implement FSMA
Building an integrated national food safety system has long been a foundational element of FDA’s strategy for carrying out an effective and efficient food safety program. It is also one of the key mandates of the new FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Such a system is premised on building full strategic and operational partnerships with state and local food safety agencies – an effort in which FDA has been engaged for the last decade through the Partnership for Food Protection and other initiatives. FDA now faces several imperatives to take this effort to a higher level.
These imperatives that the FDA now faces to take this effort to a higher level and more can be found at:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm272566.htm
FDA: Minnesota Companies Agree to Halt Sale of Amino-acid Products with Unapproved Claims
On September 14, 2011, the FDA announced that two Minnesota companies have agreed to halt distribution of amino-acid products marketed to treat a number of diseases, until requirements of the “Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act” are met. West Duluth Distribution Co., a corporation doing business as CHK Nutrition, and NeuroResearch Clinics Inc., both of Duluth, MN, and their owners or principals, signed a consent decree of permanent injunction, which was entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on September 13, 2011. The complaint for permanent injunction alleges that the companies violated the “Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.” As alleged in the complaint, CHK Nutrition’s amino-acid products are marketed with claims that they may cure, mitigate, or treat diseases. The products are not the subject of approved new drug applications nor do they qualify for exemption from the premarket approval process as investigational new drugs. Therefore, the amino-acid products are unapproved new drugs within the meaning of the “Act.”
To read news release in its entirety, go to:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm271703.htm
Jeff Farrar, DVM, MPH, PhD, Associate Commissioner for Food Protection FDA Office of Foods Issued Letter toThe Packer
On August 30, 2011, Jeff Farrar, DVM, MPH, PhD, Associate Commissioner for Food Protection FDA Office of Foods Issued a letter to “The Packer” regarding recently announced FDA fee schedule under the FDA “Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011” (“FSMA”).
Read this letter at:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm270258.htm
FSIS Policy Updates
FSIS issues Notices and Directives to protect public health. The following policy updates were recently issued:
- FSIS Notice 54-11: “Verification Activities for the Use and Labeling of Ingredients of Public Health Concern”
- FSIS Notice 53-11: “In-Commerce Surveillance Priorities”
- FSIS Notice 52-11: “Nationwide Raw Liquid Egg Microbiological Baseline Survey Shakedown”
- FSIS Notice 49-11: “Discontinuation of E. coli O157:H7 Testing in Certain Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Products”
- FSIS Notice 48-11: “Assessment of the Hazards Associated with Pork Barbecue with Vinegar and Pepper-Based Sauce”
All Notices and Directives are available at:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/index.asp