Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella Oranienburg Linked to Whole, Fresh Onions
The FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, is investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg infections linked to whole, fresh onions. FDA’s traceback investigation is ongoing but has identified ProSource Produce, LLC (also known as ProSource Inc.) of Hailey, Idaho, and Keeler Family Farms of Deming, New Mexico, as suppliers of potentially contaminated whole, fresh onions imported from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico.
ProSource Produce LLC has issued a voluntary recall of red, yellow, and white whole, fresh onions imported from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, with import dates from July 1, 2021, through August 31, 2021. A full list of recalled product information is available in ProSource Produce LLC’s recall announcement.
FDA’s traceback investigation identified Keeler Family Farms as an additional common supplier of onions from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico for many of the restaurants where sick people reported eating. When FDA met with the firm, the firm agreed to voluntarily recall all red, yellow, and white onions imported from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, from July 1, 2021, through August 31, 2021. More information regarding their recall will be provided once it is available.
Descriptors of impacted onion types from ProSource Produce LLC and Keeler Family Farms may include, but are not limited to, jumbo, colossal, medium, summer, and sweet onions.
These onions supplied by Prosource were sold to restaurants, food service locations, and retail or grocery stores throughout the United States. The investigation is ongoing to determine the source of contamination and if additional products or firms are linked to illness. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
Read full article...
Posted 10/25/21
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FDA Summit on E-Commerce Addresses Online Food Issues
The FDA New Era of Smarter Food Safety Summit on E-Commerce: Ensuring the Safety of Foods Ordered Online and Delivered Directly to Consumers was designed to help the FDA improve its understanding of how human and animal foods are sold through Business to Consumer (or B2C for short) e-commerce models across the U.S. and globally. The virtual conference was last week.
AFDO 2021-22 President Natalie Adan co-moderated a panel of seven subject matter experts on Ensuring the Safety of Foods Ordered Online and Delivered Directly to Consumers. AFDO Executive Director Steven Mandernach, participated in the session called State, Association and Public/Private Partnerships Concerns for Food Safety Sold Through E-commerce.
Summit recordings are available at the following links:
Those interested in commenting are encouraged to submit either electronic or written comments on this public meeting. For more information, see Federal Register Notice Docket No. FDA-2021-N-0929.
Posted 10/25/21
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Symposium Focuses on Food Safety in Food Service
Evolving food safety issues were key areas of discussion at the annual Nation’s Restaurant News Food Safety Symposium last week in Nashville. The event, sponsored by Ecolab, drew four dozen operators, educators and attorneys and AFDO's Executive Director Steven Mandernach. Mandernach delivered the opening address focusing on future trends, food safety culture, and food safety goals.
The annual event features regulatory and research updates, operator presentations and attendee roundtable discussions.
Photo provided by www.micahgrobinson.com.
Posted 10/25/21
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Wanted! Program Verification Auditors
AFDO is working to assist jurisdictions enrolled in the Voluntary National Retail Food Program Standards to obtain qualified auditors to perform Verification Audits. This is being done through the Retail Association Collaborative.
If you are interested in providing this service, please complete the survey below. A list of auditors will be compiled and provided to jurisdictions needing these services.
Your participation is greatly appreciated and needed to advance best practices to reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness.
Take the qualification survey by clicking the button below.
Posted 10/25/21
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USDA Launches New Effort to Reduce Salmonella Illnesses Linked to Poultry
On Tuesday, October 19, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it is mobilizing a stronger, and more comprehensive effort to reduce Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products. The agency is initiating several key activities to gather the data and information necessary to support future action and move closer to the national target of a 25% reduction in Salmonella illnesses.
“Far too many consumers become ill every year from poultry contaminated by Salmonella,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “We need to be constantly evolving in our efforts to prevent foodborne illness to stay one step ahead of the bad bugs. Today we’re taking action to help prevent Salmonella contamination throughout the poultry supply chain and production system to protect public health.”
Despite consistent reductions in the occurrence of Salmonella in poultry products, more than 1 million consumer illnesses due to Salmonella occur annually, and it is estimated (PDF, 1.4 MB) that over 23% of those illnesses are due to consumption of chicken and turkey.
“Reducing Salmonella infections attributable to poultry is one of the Department’s top priorities,” said USDA Deputy Under Secretary Sandra Eskin, who is leading the initiative. “Time has shown that our current policies are not moving us closer to our public health goal. It’s time to rethink our approach.”
USDA intends to seek stakeholder feedback on specific Salmonella control and measurement strategies, including pilot projects, in poultry slaughter and processing establishments. A key component of this approach is encouraging preharvest controls to reduce Salmonella contamination coming into the slaughterhouse. The data generated from these pilots will be used to determine if a different approach could result in a reduction of Salmonella illness in consumers.
Read the entire announcement here.
Posted 10/25/21
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FDA and Stop Foodborne Illness Co-Host Food Safety Culture Webinar
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Stop Foodborne Illness, a non-profit public health organization, are collaborating on a webinar series that explores food safety culture, one of the core elements in FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative.
The series, entitled “Collaborating on Culture in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety,” begins on Thursday, November 4, 2021 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST. This first session is called “Key Concepts in Addressing Food Safety Culture as a Science – Not a Slogan.”
The webinar series will engage experts from the public and private sectors in a collaborative exchange of ideas and experiences related to the importance of a robust food safety culture in helping to ensure safe food production.
To learn more about this webinar, including how to register, visit Save the Date: Food Safety Culture Webinar.
Posted 10/18/21
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FDA Issues Guidance for Reducing Sodium in Processed and Packaged Foods
On Thursday, October 14, the FDA issued a final guidance, "Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals: Target Mean and Upper Bound Concentrations for Sodium in Commercially Processed, Packaged, and Prepared Foods,” which provides voluntary short-term sodium reduction targets for food manufacturers, chain restaurants and food service operators for 163 categories of processed, packaged and prepared foods. The guidance is another step the agency has taken to advance the Administration’s whole-of-government approach to nutrition and health and improve future health outcomes.
By limiting certain nutrients like sodium in diets, we can help prevent diseases like hypertension and cardiovascular disease that disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minority groups, often resulting in hundreds of thousands of lives lost and billions in annual health care costs. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has only amplified these health disparities and the need for improved nutrition, as people with cardiovascular disease and other underlying conditions are at increased risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19.
The targets in the final guidance seek to decrease average sodium intake from approximately 3,400 milligrams (mg) to 3,000 mg per day, about a 12% reduction, over the next 2.5 years. Although the average intake would still be above the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ recommended limit of 2,300 mg per day for those 14 and older, we know that even these modest reductions made slowly over the next few years will substantially decrease diet-related diseases.
The final guidance outlines short-term goals that we’re recommending the food industry work to meet as soon as possible to help optimize public health. We will continue our discussions with the food industry as we monitor the sodium content of the food supply to evaluate progress. In the future, we plan to issue revised, subsequent targets to further lower the sodium content incrementally and continue to help reduce sodium intake. This iterative approach will help support gradual reductions in sodium levels broadly across the food supply so that consumers’ tastes adjust, health outcomes improve and no one company or category of food is singled out or scrutinized. Voluntary and gradual approaches such as this have also been successful in other countries, such as Canada and the U.K.
Related Information
Posted 10/18/21
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FDA Permits Marketing of E-Cigarette Products, Marking First Authorization of Its Kind by the Agency
On Tuesday, October 12, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it has authorized the marketing of three new tobacco products, marking the first set of electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products ever to be authorized by the FDA through the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) pathway. The FDA issued marketing granted orders to R.J. Reynolds (RJR) Vapor Company for its Vuse Solo closed ENDS device and accompanying tobacco-flavored e-liquid pods, specifically, Vuse Solo Power Unit, Vuse Replacement Cartridge Original 4.8% G1, and Vuse Replacement Cartridge Original 4.8% G2. As the RJR Vapor Company submitted data to the FDA that demonstrated that marketing of these products is appropriate for the protection of public health, today’s authorization allows these products to be legally sold in the U.S.
“Today’s authorizations are an important step toward ensuring all new tobacco products undergo the FDA’s robust, scientific premarket evaluation. The manufacturer’s data demonstrates its tobacco-flavored products could benefit addicted adult smokers who switch to these products – either completely or with a significant reduction in cigarette consumption – by reducing their exposure to harmful chemicals,” said Mitch Zeller, J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “We must remain vigilant with this authorization and we will monitor the marketing of the products, including whether the company fails to comply with any regulatory requirements or if credible evidence emerges of significant use by individuals who did not previously use a tobacco product, including youth. We will take action as appropriate, including withdrawing the authorization.”
Read more here.
Posted 10/18/21
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Norovirus Season Is Just Around the Corner
Winter is coming and winter is norovirus season; get prepared! Join federal, state, and academic subject matter experts for a webinar on this highly contagious virus. Get a deep dive into prevention and investigation including:
- Centers for Disease Control (CDC) -- norovirus illness and outbreak surveillance and best practices for norovirus prevention
- Tennessee Department of Health -- best practices for norovirus outbreak investigation
- New York State Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence -- best practices for interviewing retail establishment employees during norovirus outbreak investigations
Date: Monday, November 8, 2021
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST
Scheduled presenters:
Beth Wittry, CDC
Dr. Sara Mirza, CDC
Anita Kambhampati, CDC
DJ Irving, Tennessee Department of Health
Dr. Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University
Posted 10/18/21
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This Week
Part 2 - Feeling Stuck: Learn How to Empower Yourself for Success Webinar
In this AFDO webinar, Amanda Ferris takes us through the Habit Finder assessment and how to interpret your own assessment results. The tool will help identify your unique blind spots and explore practical ways to relieve mental pressure and leverage your strengths. This will allow you to experience more fulfillment, joy, and achievement as healthier habits of thinking result in the success you deserve.
We will dive directly into your assessment results and where you are compared to other colleagues. For the best experience possible do these three things:
1. Complete the Habit Finder Assessment by Wednesday, October 27.
Posted 10/11/21
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2. Have your results open from the Habit Finder Assessment for the session on October 28 at 2 p.m.
3. If you were unable to attend the first session, it is recommended that you view the September session for program orientation.
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Date: Thursday, October 28, 2021
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EDT
Posted 10/18/21
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Webinar Announcement
Home Cooking Trends and How They Impact Food Safety
Program teams are encouraged to participate in a webinar concerning a new legislative trend that would allow in-home restaurants and home cooking operations. These operations are based on a concept where foods, including temperature controlled for safety (TCS) foods, are prepared, cooked, and served from private homes. These meals can be dine-in, take-out, delivery, sold through online marketplaces, or other methods. Most legislation is calling for permitting and inspection of these private homes by the food regulatory authority. AFDO invites you to collaborate on this topic and to assist your jurisdiction in preparing for possible legislation while providing resources and tools to help ensure safe food is provided to consumers.
In preparation for this webinar, please review the following documents found at the links below. Here you will find proposed model legislations and regulations developed by Cook Alliance to assist states who are interested in expanding food freedom and who are introducing this concept to adopt, regulate, and inspect facilities in this latest food freedom trend.
https://policy.cookalliance.org/model-legislation
https://policy.cookalliance.org/model-code
Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST
Scheduled Presenters:
Steve Mandernach, Executive Director, AFDO
Posted 10/25/21
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Spaces Still Available
Root Cause Analysis for Retail Food Safety Session Offered in January
AFDO invites you to participate in the new virtual course, Performing Root Cause Analysis during Food Safety Risk Assessment. The course was developed in collaboration with ASQ, a globally-recognized provider of several certification programs, and retail food safety regulatory professionals. This course incorporates the concepts of root cause analysis for use in reducing the occurrence of risk factor violations and in the investigation of foodborne illness outbreaks. It is designed for the advanced food safety professional and will greatly enhance the skills needed to define the problem, collect data, determine the “why” and develop solutions.
Identifying the root cause (why) of risk factor violations and foodborne illness outbreaks utilizes contributing factors (what/how) and environmental antecedents providing the “why” of the violation or outbreak. This course will help develop a methodical approach to:
- Determine the underlying reasons for how and why an outbreak/violation(s) occurred
- Provide tools for more effective problem solving
- Data collection tools and analyzation
- Interventions or corrective actions to prevent recurrence
Sessions will be offered the week of January 24.
Cost is $500 per person. AFDO is subsidizing approximately 40% of the registration costs per participant.
Continuing Education Units (CEU's) through NEHA will now be offered. Certificate of Attendance and the CEU form will be sent at the conclusion of the course.
Updated 9/27/21
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Seafood Officer - Mississippi
This is proficiency level scientific work with responsibility for providing scientific expertise in the area of seafood processing plant inspection in order to meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for seafood processing and shipping inter/intrastate commerce; issuing the associated operational certificates; and recommending the issuance of cease and desist orders for production and distribution. Successful interaction with members of the seafood industry, including seafood processing plant owners, special interest groups, and the general public, and, speaking before large and small groups is required. The incumbent develops the knowledge of and skill necessary in the interpretation of FDA requirements, National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) Model Ordinance, and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations. The incumbent also possesses knowledge of microbiology and sanitation principles and develops knowledge of the laws, rules, and ordinances as they relate to the seafood processing plant inspection programs. The duties are performed using judgment and discretion and under the direct supervision of a higher-level scientist. Work is reviewed through regular meetings and conferences.
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Food Safety Specialist - Virginia, James City and Fairfax County
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is seeking a self-motivated person to become part of our Food Safety team. This position is responsible for the evaluation of food processes and the enforcement of the Virginia Food Laws and related federal and state regulations. Duties include evaluating the condition of food processing facilities relative to food safety and food defense; assisting new and existing food processing technologies and food labeling at manufacturing operations and retail food establishments; investigating complaints; conducting food borne illness investigations; collecting official samples of food and food related products; reviewing new food business proposals and assisting in the development of safe food processes; and evaluating and interpreting nutritional related claims for foods and dietary supplements.
The selected individual will establish and work from a home office under the guidance and direction of a regional field office and will be required to live in or convenient to the assigned territory. The home office must have reliable access to a network for mobile communications. The work territory includes Fairfax, Fairfax County (22312, 22003, 22015, 20124, 22030, 22031, 22032, 22039, 22041, 22042, 22044), Manassas, and Manassas Park. The use of a state vehicle will be provided for business use only.
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Food Manufacturing Inspector - Kentucky
Conduct food inspections of manufacturers or processors of regulated products to verify conformance to state and federal regulations, review product labels, monitor foods for misbranding and adulteration infractions of state and federal standards and provide education to industry partners.
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Contract Opportunity - Quality Manager
Are you proficient in ISO:17043 (preferred) or ISO: 17025? Do you have 5 to 10 hours per month to work with the AAFCO PTP team as the quality manager? We invite you to view the job description and submit your resume here. This is a contract 1099 position.
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Other Training Opportunities
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Paster Training, Inc.
Paster Training, Inc – Food and Alcohol training and consulting for Retailers and Manufacturers.
The education you need by experienced trainers and consultants.
FSMA Training - VIRTUAL and CLASSROOM AVAILABLE! Dates and Times available on our website.
- Preventive Controls for Human Food (PCHF), Full and Part 2
- Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Assessment (IAVA)
- Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP), Full and Part 2
- Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs)
Retail Training – VIRTUAL and CLASSROOM AVAILABLE! Dates and Times available on our website.
- Certified Protection Food Manager (CPFM)
- Food Handler/Food Employee
- HACCP Manager
- HACCP Employee
- Food Defense
- SPANISH TRAINING AVAILABLE!!!!!
Not seeing what you need, visit www.pastertraining.com or call us at 610.970.1776 to inquire about both public or private classes or consulting services.
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EAS Consulting Group Training
CBD and Hemp Manufacturing and Safety A Three-Part Webinar Series
October 27 & November 4, 2021, each at 1pm ET
Acidified Foods & Low-Acid Canned Foods (LACF)
Acidified Foods: Nov 1, 3, 8 & 10, 2021
LACF: November 15, 17 & 19, 2021
12pm - 4pm ET
Preventive Controls for Human Foods Seminar (PHCF) with Preventive Controls for Qualified Individuals (PCQI) Certification
December 2,7, 9, 14, 16, 2021 at 11am - 3pm ET
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The Food Safety Doctor LLC
Promoting Public Health and Food Safety through Training and FSMA Awareness
While sheltering in place, The Food Safety Doctor LLC is offering
FSMA Compliance Courses - Virtual Instructor Led Training (vILT)
Information Page
Click here to access the schedule of PCQI courses
Click here to access the schedule of FSVP-QI courses
Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Qualified Individuals (IAVA-QI) Courses
- Online: November 9, 2021 (Evening Session)
Click here to access the schedule of IAVA-QI courses
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Laws and Regulations Committee Update
A collection of current food, drug, device, and consumer product regulatory issues and news
October 18 - 20, 2021
October 21 - 22, 2021
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Laws and Regulations Committee Updates
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