Milling & Baking News - September 6, 2011 - 12

Industry Activities 

Scott Brown of Massachusetts to address A.B.A./A.T.B.I. session
WASHINGTON — Scott Brown, whose election to the U.S. Senate in January 2010 heralded a dramatic power shift in Washington, will serve as a special guest speaker before the board of directors of the American Bakers Association and the Allied Trades of the Baking Industry. The A.B.A. board and the A.T.B.I. will hold a joint session on Sept. 21. Brown “On the heels of June’s successful meeting with Secretary Vilsack, we are very excited to have a true trailblazer like Senator Brown addressing the baking industry’s leaders,” said Robb MacKie, president and chief executive officer of the A.B.A. “Senator Brown was the linchpin 41st vote on key issues like health care and card check, making him a great friend for not only America’s bakers but businesses everywhere.” Mr. Brown was elected junior senator from Massachusetts following a victory in a 2010 special election to fill the vacant seat of longtime Senate veteran Ted Kennedy. Earlier, he served in both houses of the

Massachusetts state legislature and remains active with the state’s Army National Guard. “Though a new face in town, Senator Brown has quickly built an impressive, independent voting record that puts the health of the economy before all else,” Mr. MacKie said. “The A.B.A. and A.T.B.I. board members share his goal of reenergizing the markets and look forward to hearing how we can be a part of that solution. “We also applaud Senator Brown for his common sense leadership and responsiveness on issues critical to our Massachusetts members. He was a tremendous voice for them on key priorities like commodity market volatility, ethanol, and labor regulations.” MBN completed. She noted the A.B.A. has sought additional time in its work on the project but that its request was not granted. Given the ongoing nature of the A.B.A. work, Ms. Sanders offered a broad look at current baking industry practices, touching on many areas mentioned by the F.D.A. in its request. She also asked the agency to view preventive control implementation as an “iterative process, considering, reviewing and incorporating new information as appropriate and as it becomes available.” Reviewing for the F.D.A. practices in the baking industry, Ms. Sanders identified two areas as “well-controlled and managed: physical contamination and baking.” She noted that baking serves as a kill step, controlling microbiological hazards. “Further, the risk of foreign material contamination is mitigated by the use of sifters, strainers, magnets, metal detectors and other controls,” she said. Ms. Sanders described hazard analysis and resultant risk assessment as the foundation for preventive programs, controls and plans. Based on a flow diagram, she said “a hazard analysis is the assessment of the biological, chemical and physical properties associated with each step in the flow diagram that may cause an unacceptable health risk.” This analysis helps point to
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Bakers: ‘One-size-ﬁts-all’ approach won’t work for food safety plans
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guidance should be such that it could be utilized by a variety of baking companies regardless of the size of or nature of their operations.” The F.D.A. is seeking comments regarding the identification of hazards and control measures appropriate for various types of food and methods of manufacturing or processing. More specifically, the F.D.A. asked for input about hazard analysis, process controls, validation of controls, sanitation controls, supplier controls, allergen controls, environmental monitoring for salmonella and for Listeria monocytogenes and microbial testing. Other input sought by the F.D.A. included, “specific biological, chemical, radiological, and physical hazards and controls for food types such as (but not limited to) spices, nuts, ready-to-eat food, bakery products, fresh-cut produce, milk products, and medical food.” The request is an outcome of a Food Safety Working Group established in March 2009 by President Obama and chaired by the Secretaries of the Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture. The objective of the group was to upgrade U.S. food safety laws, enhance coordination of food safety efforts and ensure adequate enforcement of laws. “The F.S.W.G. also recommended that food regulators move
12 / September 6, 2011 Milling & Baking News

aggressively to implement sensible measures designed to prevent food safety problems before they occur,” the F.D.A. said in the May request for comments. Earlier this year, the F.D.A. Food Safety Modernization Act was signed into law, requiring food companies to “take certain actions, including to evaluate the hazards that could affect food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by the facility and to identify and implement preventive controls to significantly minimize or prevent the occurrence of such hazards,” the F.D.A. said. Under the law, a written plan must be prepared to describe the procedures used by the facility to comply. The A.B.A. endorses the “riskbased, preventive approach toward food safety prescribed” in the new law, Ms. Sanders said. With the new law, she said the A.B.A. has established a working group that is engaging AIB International and member companies to develop a “resource ‘tool’ that would help standardize the steps for hazard analysis and risk assessment and the development of appropriate preventive controls of the baking industry.” Ms. Sanders said the tool could be shared with the F.D.A. once it is

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Milling & Baking News - September 6, 2011

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