Food Protection Trends - September 2010 - 530

Box 1.

Product information to assist FSIS with product traceback ∞ When? o Production date or lot number o Sell by/use by date o Purchase date e.g., inside USDA seal

∞ Who? o FSIS establishment number,

∞ What? o Product name and type, e.g., “90 percent lean ground beef” o Product weight and units per case o Amount of product purchased ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ Does the consumer have purchase receipts?

∞ Where? o Point of purchase, including name and complete address

Did the consumer use a shopper card for the purchase? Is there any leftover product held by consumer? Are there other sources of the same product?

COLLABORATIONS AND RESOURCES
FDIB becomes aware of foodborne illnesses in a variety of ways, including reports from the FSIS Consumer Complaint Monitoring System; local, state, and territorial public health departments; and federal agencies such as CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDIB also utilizes information from PulseNet, a national molecular subtyping network coordinated by CDC and comprised of laboratories at state and local public health departments, FSIS, and FDA, to detect clusters of illnesses (8). The Outbreaks Section of the Eastern Laboratory (OSEL) within FSIS routinely conducts PFGE analysis and uploads patterns to PulseNet. Surveillance for foodborne illnesses is an ongoing and daily process within FDIB. At federally inspected establishments, FSIS routinely samples raw ground beef, beef manufacturing trimmings, and selected ready-to-eat (RTE) products, such as cooked beef patties and dry fermented sausages, for E. coli O157:H7 (6). Additionally, all RTE meat and poultry products, and pasteurized egg products, are tested for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. Raw meat and poultry products that test positive for Salmonella collected as part of the

Pathogen Reduction-Hazards Analysis Critical Control Points (PR-HACCP) performance testing program (5) are also compared to PulseNet. FSIS investigators also conduct incommerce surveillance activities to ensure that meat, poultry, and egg products in commerce are safe, wholesome, correctly labeled and packaged, and secure from intentional acts of contamination. For example, FSIS investigators collect samples of raw ground beef for E. coli O157:H7 testing when the retail store that ground it fails to record the identity of its suppliers (4). During foodborne illness investigations, FDIB relies on OSEL to query the PulseNet database for updated PFGE information to guide and address the critical laboratory components of the investigation. FDIB works closely with FSIS microbiologists to review non-FSIS laboratory methods and interpret laboratory findings, such as PFGE and multi-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). Local, state, and territorial public health agencies interview case-patients to establish an epidemiologic association between exposure and illness. When alerted to a report of foodborne illnesses, FDIB typically collaborates with food-

borne disease epidemiologists, but may also work directly with local or territorial health and agriculture departments, when appropriate. During multi-state foodborne outbreak investigations, FDIB may coordinate activities with epidemiologists at CDC. Epidemiologists collect case-patient information and perform analytic studies to determine the source and vehicle of foodborne illnesses. FDIB relies on field investigators to complete the essential product identification and verification methods, as well as traceback investigations. Epidemiologic, laboratory, and environmental health information collectively play an integral part in determining whether FSIS is able to take a regulatory action during an outbreak investigation.

FSIS TRACEBACK INVEST IGATION DATA NEEDS
FDIB requests information to establish temporal and spatial relationships between illnesses and regulated products and reviews available epidemiologic information to determine the strength of association. In addition, FSIS field investigators are required to review and re-assess information in order to allow the Agency to make factual determinations about regulated products in commerce.

530 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | SEPTEMBER 2010

Food Protection Trends - September 2010

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