Dr. Michele Jay-Russell shared information about the FDA Western Center for Food Safety and WIFSS programs during a special session at the 2009 California League of Food Processors (CLFP) Expo and Showcase of Processed Foods. Established in 1905, the CLFP represents the business interests of California's dynamic food processing industry. Members supply the nation's consumers with premium quality fruits, juices, sauces, cheeses, snacks, nuts, seasonings and many other foods. Information of next year’s expo can be found here.

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Dr. Linda J. Harris was recently appointed to the AFFI scientific advisory council which met February 23, in Monterey, CA. One of the issues discussed at the meeting was guidelines for validation of cooking instructions for frozen foods (to ensure adequate destruction of pathogens) and consumer appreciation for the importance of these instructions.

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Drs. Rob Atwill, Linda Harris and Michele Jay-Russell traveled to College Park, Maryland for a meeting with the new FDA Advisory Committee for the Western Center for Food Safety. The committee comprises a diverse group of scientists and managers from FDA’s Centers and Offices that address food safety.

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Dr. Michele Jay-Russell participated on a conference call with other members of the IAFP raw milk subcommittee of the Dairy Quality and Safety Professional Development Group. The purpose of the group is to provide a forum to discuss items of interest for the production and processing of safe and quality dairy products and to develop program topics and symposia. On February 17, IAFP sponsored a symposium entitled “Raw Milk Consumption: An Emerging Public Health Threat?” Speaker presentations can be viewed here.

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The Better Process Control School (BPCS) was established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for operating supervisors of commercial food low acid and acidified low acid canning operations. The course is offered annually at UC Davis and Dr. Linda J. Harris provided presentations on the “Microbiology of Thermally-Processed Foods”, “Acidified Low-Acid Foods” and “Sanitation” to approximately 100 attendees.

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Dr. Xunde Li presented at the 7th American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting in Baltimore, MD, February 22-25 2009. His presentation, "Detection and Occurrence of Enterococcus in Dairy Ground Waters", described the technique to sample and analyze the presence of Enterococcus in ground water. Determining the occurrence of this pathogen can lead to improved agricultural saftey and food practices. The abstract and poster are available for download.

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The Center for Produce Safety at UC Davis (CPS) and the California Leafy Greens Research Program (CLGRP) awarded grants to seven leading scientists to conduct research that will provide the produce industry with new data to help mitigate the food safety risks associated with leafy greens production.

Funded equally by CPS and CLGRP, the awards represent CPS’s first collaboration under the “Partners in Research” (PIR) program. PIR grants are co-developed and co-funded with industry partners to address the research priorities of specific commodities, commodity groups and/or growing regions.

Contribution of phyllosphere microbiota to the persistence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 700728 on field-grown lettuce
Maria Marco, PhD, University of California, Davis in collaboration with WIFSS Associate Director Dr. Linda J. Harris

Fly reservoirs of E. coli O157:H7 and their role in contamination of leafy greens
Astri Wayadande, PhD, Oklahoma State University

Food safety risks associated with sheep grazing in vegetable stubble fields
Bruce Hoar, DVM, PhD, University of California, Davis

Minimizing pathogen transference during lettuce harvesting by optimizing the design of the harvesting device and operation practices
Yaguang Luo, PhD, USDA, ERS

A high-throughput, culture-independent approach to identify index and indicator species for E. coli O157:H7 contamination
Gitta Coaker, PhD, University of California, Davis

Survival of attenuated Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 700728 in field-inoculated lettuce
WIFSS Associate Director Dr. Linda Harris, PhD, University of California, Davis

Comparison of surrogate E. coli survival and epidemiology in the phyllosphere of diverse leafy green crops
Trevor Suslow, PhD, University of California, Davis

For More Information
Bonnie Fernandez, Executive Director
Center for Produce Safety
Phone: (530) 757-5777

Mary Zischke, CEO
California Leafy Greens Research Program
Phone: (831) 424-3782

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WIFSS facilitates the Emergency Animal Disposal Workgroup (EADW), a unique collaboration of academic, industry and regulatory stakeholders addressing the current and long-term needs related to livestock mortality disposal. Part of the EADW's efforts includes examining the potential use of compost to dispose of animal mortalities during emergencies.

Data from pathogen reduction, ground water and air emission study are being analyzed now. In addition the group is beginning to excavate piles to determine the extent of carcass decomposition over time.

Pictured at right are the skeletal remains of an adult dairy cow (approximately 1,600 pounds) composted in bovine manure for 17 weeks.

For more information, please contact Dr. Mike Payne.

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