Defending Food Safety : Food Safety Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Gass Weber Mullins Law Firm : National Food Product Defense Counsel : Defending Food Safety Blog

Everyone feels sick about the vast amounts of oil continuing to leak into the Gulf of Mexico. And, for the last 2 months, it has been impossible to visit your favorite news site without cringing at the depressing headlines and photos.

Thankfully, however, in addition to the ongoing containment and clean-up efforts, our government and the seafood industry are working diligently to protect us from becoming ill (literally) from seafood tainted by the massive spill.

The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) is working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) and other federal and state agencies to monitor the safety of seafood from the Gulf. The agencies have issued several assurances to the public that their efforts should prevent any contaminated seafood from reaching our shores.

The NOAA’s first action was to swiftly close waters polluted by the oil spill to fishing and shellfish harvesting. NOAA has the authority to close Federal waters, and also works closely with the coastal states (who have authority to close waters within 3 miles of their shoreline). These closed areas continue to expand as the agency monitors the movement of the oil. A map of the closed Federal waters illustrates the enormity of the situation and its impact on our seafood industry.

The FDA affirms that “closing harvest waters which could be exposed to the oil is the best way to protect the public from potentially contaminated seafood, because it keeps the product from entering the food supply.” It has been over 60 days since the oil began pouring into the Gulf, and the well is still releasing as much as 2.5 millions of gallons of oil each day.

So, when will seafood from the region be safe again?

FDA and NOAA have a plan to answer this vital question. Under the plan, harvest waters will not re-open until oil from the spill is no longer present and the seafood samples from the area pass both sensory analysis by trained experts and a chemical analysis to ensure there are no harmful residues.
Some coastal food processing plants are still able to harvest product from Gulf areas not yet affected by the spill. These processors are complying with a surveillance sampling program just implemented by the FDA by providing samples of oysters, crabs and shrimp for pollutant testing. This current testing, and the analyses to be performed once waters are re-opened, will verify that the seafood on our tables is safe to eat.

On June 14, 2010, the FDA distributed a letter to seafood processors emphasizing the processors’ obligations under the FDA’s Fish and Fishery Products Regulation. Click on the following link to view a copy of the FDA Letter. FDA urges processors to verify that their HACCP plans account for the hazard created by the oil spill, and to reassess the plans as needed. FDA also advises processors on their duty to only process fish and shellfish harvested from waters that have not been closed. FDA and NOAA said they would increase inspections to ensure that processors maintain proper documentation on the origin of their products.

While we can feel confident in the federal food safety strategy to deal with this disaster, the full impact of this spill on the Gulf Coast seafood industry will not be known for years. Thirty percent of the Gulf of Mexico federal waters are currently closed, with no re-open date in sight.

AmeriPure, one of America’s largest suppliers of Gulf oysters, just temporarily closed its doors because it could not harvest enough to keep operating. AmeriPure is remarkable for the pasteurization-like process it applies to its oysters. The process does not affect quality, but leaves the oysters safe to eat. We applaud AmeriPure’s commitment to food safety, and extend our sincere hope to both the company and seafood industry that the well can be quickly capped and seafood, rather than oil, will once again begin flowing from the Gulf.

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Research conducted by Dr. Barakat Mahmoud at Mississippi State University lends further credence to irradiation as another line of defense against foodborne illness.

Specifically, Dr. Mahmoud’s research found that x-ray irradiation killed harmful bacteria in certain foods without affecting the quality or freshness of the food, and the elimination of the bacteria even extended the food’s shelf life.

Through x-ray irradiation, Dr. Mahmoud eliminated the Vibrio bacteria from oysters without altering the quality of the food in any other way. In addition to seafood, Dr. Mahmoud’s research also focused on produce. Here too, x-rays destroyed the harmful bacteria in leafy greens but left the greens fresh and nutritious. Notably, leafy greens were deemed the riskiest food regulated by the FDA in 2009.

The notion of food irradiation has been around for quite some time, but it is not without limitations. X-ray irradiation, however, in comparison to gamma ray and electron beam radiation, may offer more promise. First, consumers are wary of irradiated foods even though irradiation has proven extremely safe. Dr. Mahmoud hopes consumers will feel more secure with x-ray technology since it is more familiar to them.

Second, the introduction of most types of irradiation into the food manufacturing process is not easily accomplished. Dr. Mahmoud does believe that x-ray irradiation “can be effectively used in large-scale commercial operations,” however, and is presenting his research across the country. Indeed, one advantage of x-ray irradiation is that it can be accomplished at the manufacturing facility, whereas some other technologies require trucking products to another location.

In any event, we send our thanks to the scientists, educators, government agencies and food manufacturers who continue their efforts to research new technologies -- like x-ray irradiation -- to help make the food we eat as safe as it can be.

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With Halloween fast approaching, it would seem the perfect time to worry the masses.

Researchers from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (“CSPI”), for instance, have just compiled nearly twenty years of CDC data, and used it to create a list of the riskiest foods to consume. In turn, some major news outlets, including CNN, quickly publicized the findings. Click on the following link to view the CSPI Study.

The study attempted to determine the relative risk of select foods by examining the frequency of past food-borne illness outbreaks associated with each. The findings, ironically, are nearly identical to the Food Guide Pyramid, which tells us what, and how much, food we should eat in order to stay healthy.

In any event, according to the CSPI study, the ten most risky foods are as follows:

1. Leafy Greens: 363 outbreaks (13,568 reported cases of illness);
2. Eggs: 352 outbreaks (11,163 reported cases of illness);
3. Tuna: 268 outbreaks (2341 reported cases of illness);
4. Oysters: 132 outbreaks (3409 reported cases of illness);
5. Potatoes: 108 outbreaks (3659 reported cases of illness);
6. Cheese: 83 outbreaks (2761 reported cases of illness);
7. Ice Cream: 74 outbreaks (2594 reported cases of illness);
8. Tomatoes: 31 outbreaks (3292 reported cases of illness);
9. Sprouts: 31 outbreaks (2022 reported cases of illness); and
10. Berries: 25 outbreaks (3397 reported cases of illness).

The implied lesson from the findings seems to be that we should, in order to minimize our risk of getting sick, avoid eating fruits, vegetables, dairy products and seafood. In turn, it would seem, a diet which consists strictly of beef, chicken and candy would be exactly what the doctor ordered.

In my view, scaring people away from certian foods doesn’t help promote food safety. And, warning people not to eat fruits and vegetables may be a bit short-sighted. Leafy greens, for instance, are served in virtually every single salad and on every single sandwich; that translates to nearly a billion safe servings every single day. The same is true for other foods on the list, including countless fruits and most vegetables.

So, in twenty years, we have less than 14,000 reported cases of people getting sick from leafy greens? You do the math. This is really no different than arguing that visiting the grocery store (to buy your produce) is an inherently dangerous activity because, every so often, someone trips.

Moreover, in my house, it is not what you eat that determines the risk, but rather who made it. My father, for instance, didn’t stop at just cooking our food. He cremated it. In this regard, most foods we enjoy are perfectly safe when properly handled and cooked to a thousand degrees centigrade (or, 160 degrees fahrenheit as recommended by FSIS).

In any event, recognizing that nothing in our world is without risk, I’ll continue to take my chances with a healthy diet and tasty food. And, despite its safety record, the candy can wait until Halloween. For now, I’m going to go eat a salad.

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In recent years, we have witnessed a large increase in the number of reported food-borne illnesses and outbreaks. As a result of improved governmental surveillance, aided by PulseNet and OutbreakNet, more food-borne illnesses and outbreaks are being identified. In turn, as food companies attempt to overcome these trends, new antimicrobial interventions are receiving even greater attention.

One of the most promising food safety technologies is a post-packaging pasteurization technique known as High Pressure Processing (“HPP”). HPP can be used for a wide variety of perishable foods, and works by uniformly applying up to 87,000 psi of hydrostatic pressure to prepackaged foods for up to three minutes. The application of high pressure to the product inactivates both spoilage microorganisms and harmful pathogens by causing the microbial cell membrane to become more porous, and by inactivating enzymes vital for microbial survival. This process, which the American Pasteurization Company (“APC”) has been performing on behalf of customers for years, reduces microorganisms and increases shelf-life significantly.

Notably, the USDA-FSIS currently regards high pressure processing as a valid intervention method for Listeria monocytogenes in prepackaged, ready-to-eat meat products. Because the pressure is hydrostatic (think of a grape in a bottle), there is no impact on the texture or flavor of products that are treated. Other applications include ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, guacamole, fresh salsa, humis, raw and marinated meats, seafood, oysters, dips, wet salads, and various cheese products. The list of appropriate uses and products, of course, continues to expand daily.

Additional benefits of HPP include:

• Dramatically increasing the safety of food products;

• Affording greatly enhanced brand equity protection;

• Extending the optimal freshness of food products using a non-thermal technology;

• Dramatic extension of shelf life;

• Allows reformulation to reduce or eliminate dependency on added microbial inhibitors;

• Facilitates the migration of many products from frozen to fresh; and

• For USDA plants, HPP is considered an effective intervention and helps processors comply with current Listeria regulations.

APC is the first company in the United States to offer HPP on a commercial tolling basis. This arrangement is extremely beneficial to customers because, once pre-packaged foods are received from customers and treated, the products can be custom labeled, packed and shipped directly from APC’s USDA-inspected facility to end-users. Moreover, recent advances in pressure equipment have significantly lowered the cost of use.

To date, APC has successfully processed more that 50 million pounds of food products for more than 30 separate food processors. APC is located in Milwaukee, and because it does not manufacture food (it only makes food safer), the company does not compete with its customers.

Thus, for food companies looking to utilize this new technology on a commercial tolling basis, without incurring the necessary infrastructure costs, don’t hesitate to contact Greg Zaja (of APC’s Research and Development Group) for more information.

Special thanks to APC (www.pressurefresh.com) for helping make our food safer.

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