Food Protection Trends - October 2009 - 683

session summaries Members of the IAFP Student Professional development group assisted the Convenors by serving as Session Monitors at IAFP 2009. Student Monitors prepared the following session summaries for presentation in Food Protection Trends. S1 – ICMSF Symposium on International Developments in Food Safety Sarah Markland, University of Delaware Anderson de Souza Sant´Ana, University of São Paulo Leon Gorris, from Unilever, began the symposium with a presentation on the importance of risk-based analysis and management in the food industry. He explained the different levels of food safety management at the country and operation level. Risk analysis enables microbiological criteria and standards and ultimately a food safety objective. He stressed the importance of assessing the risks in every stage of food production in order for producers to maintain an effective food safety management program. The next speaker, Marcel Zwietering from Wageningen University, discussed methods for determining the quality and performance of microbiological criteria. There is often the illusion in the food industry that a negative test concludes that the sample is completely free of pathogens – this is not true. Food sampling plans should be based on a pre-specified food safety objective. A larger number of samples should be tested in order to reduce the probability of obtaining a negative result. By improving the performance of microbiological criteria, the industry may be able to detect problems in a more effective and timely manner. Katherine Swanson, from Ecolab Inc., discussed the use of testing in food safety management. She presented the current project of the ICMSF titled Book 8, which is still in progress. The objectives of Book 8 are to update testing criteria, recommend other useful tests for specific products and to address food safety and quality. The two main components of the book include principles and commodities. She explained that microbiological testing assesses food safety, verifies HACCP, and can even help identify and control a food safety problem. Types of testing include in process testing, environmental testing, shelf life testing, and end-product testing. Looking at trends in data of all aspects of food production can present possible reasons for contamination of a product. The ICMSP Book 8 project is still in the works, as Dr. Swanson explained, and all recommendations are not yet final. The next three speakers made their presentations based on the ICMSF Book 8. The presentations focused on microbiological testing from “farm to fork.” Dr. R.B. Tompkin presented testing criteria to address meat and poultry safety. Dr. J. M. Farber focused on sampling and testing concerning seafood safety, while the last speaker, Dr. Robert L. Buchanan, focused his presentation on the produce safety. Specific examples on the commodities were presented and discussed that are draft of the ICSMF book 8. Main points showed in these presentations were that testing a low number of samples in the end product is not the best option to assure that a specific food, for example, is free from a determined pathogen. The approach must consider the microbiological testing of the whole food production chain so as to help to know from where a microbial contamination comes. S2 – Sterilant Gas Decontamination of Food and Environments and Emerging Technology Amrita Pathania, Auburn University The session on sterilant gas decontamination of food and environments and emerging technology was opened by Jeffery L. Kornacki from Kornacki Microbiology Solutions, Inc., who introduced the potential of sterilant gas technologies for disinfection. Development of microbial growth niches in equipment and facilities continues to be a frequent source of contamination. Many sites are difficult to disassemble for effective cleaning and sanitization and they entrap microbes which multiply to high numbers and cause contamination of food. Gases can penetrate easily into the cracks and niches in food and in facilities where entrapped microbes could be missed by conventional techniques of cleaning and sanitization. Bassam Annous, USDA-ARS, talked about the need for such a method of sterilization which has developed from the use of many items that cannot be subjected to heat, radiation, or liquid chemical sterilization. The following advantages were noted: sterilization is at low temperatures thus avoiding damage to heat- and moisture-sensitive materials; objects or items can be sterilized in their containers or packages, diffusion of some gaseous sterilants through containers of plastic, paper, or fabric eliminates problems of removal of sterilant; gaseous sterilants penetrate into areas not reached by liquids. There is an increase in the consumer-driven demands in the food industry. The first is the provision of fresh, natural foods requiring minimal preparation and the second is the control of food safety with no artifical additives, hormones or antibiotics. Research is being done keeping these trends in perspective. The efficacy of sterilant gases to decontaminate fruits and vegetables was discussed by Joseph Frank. The potential of Allyl Isocyanate isolated from horseradish and mustard on tomato skin was discussed. Packaged sliced tomatoes are a popular product for institutional foodservice. Slicing provides opportunity for exterior contaminants to reach inside. Ozone gas has shown to slow ripening, suppresses fungal growth, increases shelf life and there is no tissue damage. OCTOBER 2009 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS

Food Protection Trends - October 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - October 2009