Food Protection Trends - November 2010 - 687

Combase currently puts many pieces of information together such that a pattern becomes obvious. This allows expected conditions to be used to create a model for predictions. In this respect, Microbial Responses Viewer is now linked to Combase so that more value is obtained from a data search. For example, E. coli growth in beef can be compared with the growth of other microorganisms in beef. Similarly, growth of E. coli in beef can be compared with its growth in other foods. There is thus more value for the same information available. Food safety scenarios are complex, as they involve a large number of variables, uncertain or missing information, and conflicting views. We don’t know everything, so we cannot say anything. Probabilistic network, another form of a network system, allows us to address many complexity issues and at least say something. Modeling complex systems prevents a dilemma. Probability is belief in that it gives an integral representation of uncertainties. Probabilistic networks are presented as flow diagrams consisting of nodes connected with arrows. Nodes represent uncertain variables and arrows represent dependencies or causality. Network structure comes from expertise and data mining with support from software tools. Bayesian networks, often involved in probabilistic networks, tell us that if we observe A, then B or C might have caused it. Source level inference provides a link between food chain management and food chain security from threats. No one is immune from the data deluge. Networks provide the only means of deciphering and understanding the huge amount of data available.

S3 — Converging Industry Initiatives on Traceability Lillian Hsu and Angela Laury
The symposium “Converging Industry Initiatives on Traceability” focused on the difficulties facing the food industry in labeling products at every step of the food supply and processing chain and the consequent obstacles in rapidly conducting product tracebacks. Dr. Dennis R. Heldman, of Heldman Associates, started with a talk titled “Advances in Food Traceability Technology.” Food traceability is a system designed to assemble and distribute information about the product throughout the chain, from the origin of the raw food material until the final product reaches the consumer. The two main tools used in food traceability systems are barcodes and radio frequency identification (RFIDs). Improvements on barcode and RFID technologies include the use of sensors that can track temperature, moisture, oxygen, and other product or environmental parameters, including pathogens. The presence of sensors that can continuously monitor product quality and changes until the product reaches the consumer has the potential to sharply reduce food safety risks. However, improvements to the system are limited by several factors, including the cost, maintaining collaboration among various stages of production, consumer interpretation of information, and the lack of government regulation. The second speaker was Dr. David E. Gombas, of the United Fresh Produce Association. His talk, “Produce Traceability Initiative,” focused on an initiative that United Fresh, PMA, and CPMA worked on to address is-

sues facing the produce industry: the absence of packaging, because produce is sold in bulk; a convoluted supply chain; the practice of co-mingling and repacking to meet quality expectations; and non-uniform tracing practices. The initiative that United Fresh, PMA, and CPMA launched focused on the use of a 14-digit global trade identification number (GTIN) and a unique lot number to label all unique produce case configurations. After implementing this initiative, they found some problems that needed to be resolved: difficulty in physically labeling cases, bags, etc.; uncertainty of market commitment; cost and return on investment; and the absence of government regulations. Still, United Fresh, PMA, and CPMA stand by the GTIN and lot number approach, and are working with industry to troubleshoot obstacles to successfully adopting this approach. The last speaker was Sherri A. McGarry, director of public health and biostatistics at the FDA CFSAN. Her talk,“Improving Product Tracing: FDA Perspective,” focused on current challenges in product tracing and new policy initiatives being considered by FDA. The main challenges in a product traceback include: a time lapse between onset of illness and reporting; poor consumer recollection of food consumption history; multiple products with multiple ingredients identified as possible sources of contamination; lack of rapid connectivity; repackaging and co-mingling, absence of packaging altogether, and unavailability of the product. The FDA has proposed various food safety bills that it hopes will speed up the traceback process and are working to help implement preventive food safety policies based on lessons learned from previous outbreaks. Overall, improvements have been made to the food traceability system, but work remains to be done to achieve a reliable and unified global food traceability system.

S4 — Human Pathogens Associated with Edible Plants Claudia Bravo and Travis Chapin
Donald Zink (FDA-CFSAN) introduced the session by reviewing food safety studies in plants. In these studies, oversimplification and unforeseen complexity have often occurred. Bacteria have to be studied as parts of ecosystems. Food microbiologists still struggle with recovering pathogens from food; future food safety research will be multidisciplinary and multi-institutional. Jacqueline Fletcher (Oklahoma State University) continued by speaking about plant pathology. To better understand syndromes in plants, plant pathologists use the disease triangle, which comprises three components: susceptible host, pathogen and conductive environment. There is interaction among the three components. The principle of the disease triangle leads to strategies for disease management. Plant pathologists will look at every step of the process (dissemination, infection, colonization, epidemiology, environmental conditions, and plant response mechanisms). Each state of a disease can be an opportunity for pathogen control. Jeri Barak (University of Wisconsin) presented data on the ability of Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 to grow in the sprouting environment; their results showed attachment differences between these two pathogens.

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Food Protection Trends - November 2010

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