eNewsletter, January 2011

1. Celebration of the WCFS’ third anniversary as an FDA CFSAN academic Center of Excellence and website launch
2. Multiple ongoing and new research awards and collaborations with the Center for Produce Safety
3. Numerous professional presentations, workshops and trainings for industry, food safety colleagues, and international delegations
4. WIFSS successfully re-certified the six course curriculum WIFSS Agroterrorism Preparedness Curriculum for Frontline Responders
5. Completion of nine state FDA All-Hazard Food-Feed Rapid Response Team (RRT) assessments
6. Leadership in multidisciplinary research and outreach to address co-management of food safety, wildlife and the environment
7. Extensive outreach and training in the care and welfare of dairy animal
8. Providing CNN and other media scientific expertise following the massive egg recall due toSalmonella Enteritidis
9. Professional recognition including receipt of the 2010 IAFP Frozen Food Foundation Freezing Research Award (Linda Harris)
10. Publications in Journal of Food Protection, Journal of Food Science, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Journal of Environmental Quality, American Journal of Veterinary Research, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, and the 2010 Proceedings of the American Society for Microbiology

WIFSS Joins FDA, CDC and CDFA in Providing Raw Milk Safety Analysis

Humboldt County is one of only three California counties which prohibit the sale of raw (unpasteurized) milk for human consumption. Last summer the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors was petitioned by consumers and health food store owners to revoke its sales ban. County public health staff sought analysis of the submitted raw milk health and safety claims from the federal Food and Drug Administration, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security. UC educators and investigators are frequently asked by regulatory agencies and legislators to provide background and context on complex scientific issues, with the understanding that such opinions do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the University. In January the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 5 to 0 to maintain the current ban, with the caveat that the issue could be reopened as new information became available.

Available on the internet:

• Archived video of the August 24th and January 12th Board meetings
• The public health staff report with letters from FDA, CDC, CDFA and WIFSS
• A literature review by FDA

For more information contact Michael Payne.

Microbial Challenge Testing for Foods Workshop 

April 7-8, 2011
Rosemont, IL

This workshop was offered in August 2010 at the IAFP annual meeting as a preconference event, and will be repeated for the food industry in response to member interest.  Presenters include Linda Harris, Don Schaffner, and Kathy Glass. Because of the many questions raised by regulatory and industry professionals about the appropriate use of challenge studies, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) was asked to provide guidance on the topic of challenge studies and their use. This workshop will present the NACMCF report and instructors will guide the students though use of the material in the report to develop actual challenge study protocols based on NACMCF recommendations.  Registration will be open by February 1, 2011, and will be limited to the first 35 attendees. The NACMCF report may be found here.

Advanced Topics in Microbial Safety of Fresh Produce Workshops

March 1-3, 2011, Davis, CA 
April 27-29, 2011, Wimauma, FL

This course is presented under the sponsorship of the USDA Specialty Crops Project Increasing Consumption of Specialty Crops by Enhancing their Quality & Safety.  Topics include an introduction to Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment, science basis for GAP and GHP standards and metrics, and consideration and conflicts in pathogen testing.  Instructors include Trevor Suslow and Linda Harris from UC Davis and Michelle Danyluk and Keith Schneider from the University of Florida. More information about the course and registration information may be found here.