Food Protection Trends - March 2009 - 145

before PulseNet was established. Clearly, the respective food industries can take credit for much of this improvement, but the better epidemiology that PulseNet has allowed should also be acknowledged. Although epidemiology is a valuable tool that has clearly contributed to the identification of foodborne outbreaks and improved safety, care must be taken to ensure that epidemiology surveys are carefully conducted and responsibly reported. The pressure CDC and other public health agencies are under to rapidly identify the source of outbreaks can lead to unintended consequences. Identification of potential foods that are the cause of outbreaks has immediate significant financial implications to the company or industry identified as the potential cause of the outbreak. The erroneous identification of tomatoes as the cause of the widespread Salmonella outbreak in the summer of 2008 cost the US tomato industry in excess of 200 million dollars. The CDC based their initial warning that tomatoes were the likely cause of the outbreak on the data that their epidemiological studies produced. An evaluation of how this decision was made, when peppers were the true source, revealed that the right questions were not asked by the epidemiologist conducting the investigation. Because tomatoes had been associated with Salmonella in recent years, the questionnaires had questions about tomatoes, but not about peppers because Salmonella had not previously been associated with peppers. When salsa made with tomatoes and peppers were identified as the likely cause of the outbreak, then the assumption was that the Salmonella was coming from the tomatoes. An honest oversight and mistake on the part of CDC and state health departments, but one that was very costly to the tomato industry. Over the last 10 years, PulseNet has contributed significantly to a reduction in the number of illnesses from foods. The success of PulseNet in the United States has led to an expansion of the network to many different countries. With the increased movement of foods from one country to another, the ability to identify outbreak-associated cases globally is becoming increasingly important. In an ideal world we would never have any foodborne illnesses or outbreaks, but in the world we live in today, we will likely continue to see outbreaks. When we inevitably see the next outbreak, I would encourage you to consider the identification of that outbreak as a success rather than a failure of our public health and regulatory agencies. As I close my Perspective for this month, I want to encourage each of you to make your reservations for this year’s annual meeting in Grapevine, Texas, July 12–15. The Program Committee has organized another outstanding program. I welcome your comments or feedback. Please E-mail me at stan.bailey@na. biomerieux.com. IS YOUR PROGRAM CRUMBINE MATERIAL? PUT IT TO THE TEST! The Samuel J. Crumbine Consumer Protection Award for Excellence in Food Protection at the Local Level is seeking submissions for its 2009 program. Achievement is measured by: • Sustained improvements and excellence, as documented by specific outcomes and achievements, over the preceding four to six years, as evidenced by continual improvements in the basic components of a comprehensive program; • Innovative and effective use of program methods and problem solving to identify and reduce risk factors that are known to cause foodborne illness; • Demonstrated improvements in planning, managing, and evaluating a comprehensive program; and • Providing targeted outreach; forming partnerships; and participating in forums that foster communication and information exchange among the regulators, industry and consumer representatives. All local environmental health jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada are encouraged to apply, regardless of size, whether “small,” “medium” or “large.” The Award is sponsored by the Conference for Food Protection, in cooperation with the American Academy of Sanitarians, American Public Health Association, Association of Food and Drug Officials, Foodservice Packaging Institute, International Association for Food Protection, National Association of County & City Health Officials, National Environmental Health Association, National Restaurant Association Solutions, NSF International and Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. For more information on the Crumbine Award program, please go to www.fpi.org or call the Foodservice Packaging Institute at (703) 538-2800. Deadline for entries is March 13, 2009. MARCH 2009 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 145

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Food Protection Trends - March 2009

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