How Well Are Food Companies Addressing Microbiological Safety Issues. David Acheson MD

Transcription

1 How Well Are Food Companies Addressing Microbiological Safety Issues David Acheson MD

2 Most Deadly Outbreak for years 146 Illnesses 30 deaths 2

3 December 2011 Salmonella Glass Fragments Listeria Allergens Allergens 3

4 How Well Are Food Companies Addressing Microbiological Safety Issues A common perception is that it is getting worse More outbreaks More recalls More attention Changing Landscape Is it worse what are the facts What are food companies doing 4

5 The Changing Food-Safety Landscape in the U.S. Global food supply Changing science Consumer expectations New threats Media influence 5

6 The Global United States Food Supply Global sourcing of foods and ingredients Imports account for 15% of U.S. food supply Over 75% of seafood Over 60% fresh produce Volume of imported food has increased dramatically over the last 10 years and will continue to rise Volume of U.S. imported seafood, fruits, and vegetables, 1999 vs Fish and Shellfish Fruits Vegetables Source: USDA Economic Research Service

7 Increases in global trade are increasing the exposure of U.S. consumers to foreign products and source materials. 1 HIS Global Insight industry categories were used to compute these figures; categories do not exactly match FDA-regulated products. Source: HIS Global Insight, Frost & Sullivan, GAO: Improvements Needed in the Foreign Drug Inspection Program

8 Import shipments of FDA-regulated products have been growing at 13 percent per year.

9 Changing Science of Food Safety New risks identified with foods (peanut butter, cookie dough) Greater capacity to link food with illness Ability to measure lower levels of chemicals Greater fidelity of epidemiology Improvements in genetic testing 10 Foods Linked to New Outbreaks of Foodborne Illness in the United States Since 2006 Bagged spinach Carrot juice Peanut butter Canned chili sauce Broccoli powder on snack food Pot pies Dog food Hot peppers White pepper Raw cookie dough 9

10 The Use of New Generation Sequencing Goes beyond PFGE and MLVA Link strains that are NOT a PFGE match Rule out strains that are a PFGE match Place microbes in geographic groupings 10

11 Consumer Expectations Have Shifted in the United States Americans expect all types of food will be available all the time Zero tolerance for unsafe food Consumers place responsibility for safe food on the producer Increased desire for local and unprocessed food Chemophobia Consumers have the ability to damage a brand

12 New Threats for Intentional Contamination and Fraud Profit for the supplier The need to meet a customer s requirements Lack of awareness by the regulators and the industry No testing protocols If no one is sick and the problem is not discovered there is little incentive to stop.

13 Influence of the Media on Food Safety in the U.S. The U.S. media, especially television, has changed: Faster 2-hour news cycle Focused on health and food Looks to blame Variation in bias and selective reporting Social media gives individual citizens a mechanism to broadly report food-related illness and destroy a brand. Yet, American media still retains a vast capacity to educate. 13

14 Are we Getting Better? Recalls Warning letters Trends for microbial pathogens 14

15 More Recalls of Food in the United States Recalls of Food Regulated by U.S. FDA Class I Class II Class III Source: US FDA 15

16 Recalls - Good or Bad? Triggers Illness Testing/process controls Remove contaminated product Prevent exposures Protect the public 16

17 Increased Number of Warning Letters 220 Warning Letters Issued by U.S. FDA Source: US FDA 17

18 U.S. Trends for Microbial Pathogens 18

19 How Well Are Food Companies Addressing Risk Greater consumer awareness Greater capacity to detect illness Greater ability to link illness with food More people vulnerable to foodborne illness Age Immune compromised Numbers of illness largely flat or going down 19

20 Scope of the Challenge Highly complex supply chains Many farms/facilities globally Varying standards Different understanding of risk Variable resources 20

21 Stay Out of The Ditch 21

22 The Ditch Got Bigger 22

23 The Global U.S. Food Supply Many Components FOREIGN Grower Manufacturer/ Processor Warehouse Importer 200 Million Farms in China 254,000 Facilities Retail Grower Manufacturer/ Processor Warehouse Distributor 114,000 Facilities 2 Million Farms 167,000 Facilities Food Service DOMESTIC 935,000 Facilities 23

24 Vast Range of Facilities US vs. Foreign Farms Manufacturers Very small to very large Exemptions for small facilities Intra- vs. Inter- State 24

25 Understanding of Risk Within facilities Hazards on the farm Hazards in the supply chain Hazards with processing Hazards in the facility environment Science of risk in foods Peanut butter Cookie dough 25

26 Varying Sophistication/Resources Full food safety team Microbiologists Chemists Toxicologists Statisticians Single QA Manager 26

27 What are the Leaders Doing Controlling supply chain risk Improving product tracking Controlling internal risks Process controls GMPs Increased testing Enhanced monitoring 27

28 Signed into law on January 4, Most sweeping overhaul of the food safety system since Law reflects risk-based integrated global systems approach Strong emphasis on prevention Prevention Enhanced Partnerships Inspections, Compliance, and Response Import Safety 28

29 What to Expect Industry consolidations More recalls More enforcement actions Use of new technology Increasingly safe food supply 29

30 Striking a Balance Could industry do better Greater desire for locally grown food Consumer acceptance of technology Rising costs 30

31 Summary The food supply chain is getting more global and more complex The food supply is getting safer Industry is constantly improving Complexity is increasing Ability to detect problems is increasing Poor acceptance of technology solutions 31

32 Thank You 32