FOOD SAFETY A GROWING CONCERN FOR CONSUMERS
The Center for Food Integrity in Kansas City has recently released new research showing that U.S. consumers are more concerned about the safety of their food than they are about the war in Iraq or global warming. The Consumer Trust Survey asked participants to rate on a scale of 0-10 (10 being the most concerned) on a plethora of issues. The results showed that concerns of food safety were higher than war, immigration issues, global warming and humane handling issues.
Over 2000 individuals took the survey and when asked to react to 24 statements about the food system, less than 20% strongly agreed that government agencies are doing a job of ensuring the safety of the food we eat. The Center for Food Integrity is a not-for-profit corporation established to build consumer confidence in the contemporary U.S. food system.
Reference: www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx
NEW METHOD OF FOOD SAFTEY ASSESSMENTS BY FSIS
A new method methodology for the conduction of food safety assessments (FSAs) will be implemented at 5300 HACCP meat processing plants by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The new program will consist of a random FSA at least once every 4 years which will set up a cycle for all plants, a new set of questions that will provide a structure by which Enforcement, Investigation and Analysis Officers can better collect and input data, and introducing a new Listeria testing for the 2400 plants that produce ready–to-eat product or other products at risk of harboring that bacteria.
The USDA has implemented this plan with the aim of improving the consistency of inspection sand documenting findings and to create uniformity of inspections.
Ken Peterson, assistant administrator of FSIS's Office of Field Operations told Meatingplace.com "I don't need a cookie-cutter approach to FSAs, but I need a certain structure that they don't have today". Between now and next summer, Peterson's office is trying to prioritize and will start with the plants that produce 95% of all commodities and work it's way down.
Reference: www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx
MAPLE LEAF FOODS ISSUES RECALL AND TEMPORARILY CLOSES FACTORY
Maple Leaf Consumer Foods in Burlington Ontario has issued a voluntary recall on 23 of their products. In total there have approximately 2 Million dollars worth of prepared product recalled due to contamination with Listeria Monocytogenes. The factory has been temporarily shut down for a full review of their food safety procedures and a full cleaning and sanitation.
The products were distributed nationally and primarily to food service institutions such as restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes. In addition, these products may have also been sold at deli counters including McDonald's and Mr. Sub. Currently there has been one death, 12 people ill, and an additional 16 probable or suspected cases. Currently the CFIA is currently monitoring the recall.
Reference: http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/New/Local/2008/08/21/6522826-sun.html
NEBRASKA BEEF EXPANDS RECALL
Nebraska based Nebraska Beef Ltd. has announced that it will now expand their earlier recall of Primal cuts, Subprimal cuts, and boxed beef by 160,000 pounds and bringing their total up to 1.36 million pounds.
"Nebraska Beef's production practices on June 24 were "insufficient" to effectively control E. coli 0157:H7, and products subject to the expanded recall may have been produced under unsanitary conditions", FSIS said, noting the expansion wasn't prompted by investigations of forborne illnesses.
Reference:
www.meatingplace.com/membersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=9396&pf=t
www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events
WHOLE FOODS ANNOUNCE NEW AUDIT PROCEDURES FOR BEEF
In the wake of the Whole Foods Market recall, plans were announced to reform its procedures for approving meat suppliers. Whole Foods announced that their approved meat supplier, Coleman natural, was bought out and the new ownership began using Nebraska Beef plan that the company was not aware of.
Starting immediately Whole Foods Market plan to institute new policies to detect such changes in processing plants and plan to take measure to audit all of its meat shipments much more carefully. According to Libba Letton "It's going to mean going back and examining these other things and making sure there aren't holes, especially in terms of food safety".
One of their new requirements will be requiring E. coli testing of beef that extends beyond current government requirements.
SOUTH KOREA INCREASING TESTING MEASURES FOR IMPORTS
According to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, due to the recent recall from Nebraska Beef Ltd. of 2400 tons of ground beef, South Korea has announced that they will be increasing the testing measures and scrutiny of all ground beef received from them for 5 successive imports. Currently Nebraska Beef is one of the 30 U.S. slaughterhouses that are eligible to export meat to South Korea.
Another implication from this recent recall is that the population of South Korea, which just settled down from an uproar over the recent resumption of U.S. beef imports, will not help the unsettled population believe that U.S beef is safe. Based on this latest recall, the U.S. has decided that now is not the most opportune time to push Seoul to revise its import protocol to expand beyond its current import of cattle younger than 30 months of age.
CALIFORNIA COMPANY ISSUES RECALL DUE TO E. COLI
Fresno California company Renna's Meat Market has recently issued a recall of 780 pounds of ground beef because of fears it might be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service made the announcement and warned the affected beef was shipped for direct consumer consumption and to restaurants.
The Problem was discovered by FSIS in routine microbiological testing and as of this time no illnesses have been linked to the recall.
Reference: www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNew/details.aspx?item=9372