About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.

Check the pork; cluster of toxoplasmosis in Brazil

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Ben Chapman

It’s not just for cats anymore.

In 2012, Hip-music-listening, and general all around good guy Mike Batz (and co-authors) identified Toxoplasma gondii and pork as the second most burdensome food-pathogen combination, resulting in an estimated 35,000 illnesses annually in the U.S.

At least 20 Brazilian cases of toxoplasmosis have been confirmed with another 70 showing symptoms according to Folha Geral (some things may be lost in translation).

Five months after identifying an outbreak of toxoplasmosis in the premises of the Agronomic Institute of Paraná (Iapar), in the south of Londrina, the Department of Epidemiological Surveillance of the Municipal Health Department yesterday confirmed another outbreak, this time in the unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), located in the district of Warta, in the north.

According to the manager of Epidemiological Surveillance Londrina, Rosangela Libaroni, 73 people showed symptoms of the disease transmitted by the feces of cats between the end of last year and the end from January. The tests confirmed 20 cases of acute toxoplasmosis and dismissed another ten. The rest of the cases still under investigation follows awaiting official reports. Three patients presented symptoms but were not contaminated.

The task force set up to try to identify the source of contamination has a partnership with the State University of Londrina (UEL). The head of the Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine UEL, Italmar Navarro, said the research follows in the analysis phase, but said that the contamination through the water was discarded. He also recalled that there was no conclusion about the focus of contamination that caused the outbreak in Iapar late last year after a series of laboratory tests.

Yesterday afternoon, the troughs of Embrapa who were sealed were reactivated. Already the cafeteria remains interdicted. Rosangela reported that all the people who have been infected will be heard to see if they were eating at the local cafeteria. “If it is not the water, suspicion falls on the food. We have to know the origin of this food, because of the outbreak of risk elsewhere in the city,” Rosangela warned.

What are gloves protecting? The food or the handler?

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Ben Chapman

This one time, in graduate school, a harvester told me that he loved wearing gloves when he picked tomatoes because it kept his hands from getting dirty.

Another time, in graduate school, a greenhouse manager told me he had convinced his boss that food safety was really important and the company invested in installing full restrooms in the greenhouse — and fully stocked a closet with latex gloves.

The manager trained all the employees on why clean hands and gloves were important.

A week after the training session he saw an employee urinating on the outside wall of the restroom.

With his gloves on.

Or maybe gloves are there to protect the food handlers from the food (thanks to Carl Custer for the cartoon).

Food Safety Talk 93: Does your dog poop outside

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Ben Chapman

Food Safety Talk, a bi-weekly podcast for food safety nerds, by food safety nerds. The podcast is hosted by Ben Chapman and barfblog contributor Don Schaffner, Extension Specialist in Food Science and Professor at Rutgers University. Every two weeks or so, Ben and Don get together virtually and talk for about an hour.

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

International Association for Food Protection

Reconcilable Differences #16: Ancient Bird – Relay FM

Tom Jones (@mmbagelz) | Twitter

Conference for Food Protection

Chipotle may be safer than ever. Seriously!

Health department inspection criteria more likely to be associated with outbreak restaurants in Minnesota. – PubMed – NCBI

Chipotle will close Feb. 8 for company wide meeting on food safety | OregonLive.com

Chipotle Sabotaged by GMO Activists? : snopes.com

‎www.cdc.gov/phlp/docs/forensic_epidemiology/Additional%20Materials/Articles/Torok%20et%20al.pdf

Winter’s the Time for Norovirus | North Carolina Health News

Farmers Markets and Food-Borne Illness – The New York Times

‎marcfbellemare.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BellemareKingNguyenFarmersMarketsJuly2015.pdf

farmers markets microbiology – Google Scholar

Air driers suck; just ask local graffiti artists | barfblog

Evaluation of bacterial contaminants found on unused paper towels and possible postcontamination after handwashing: A pilot study – American Journal of Infection Control

Food Dehydrator

R.E.M. – What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? (Official Video) – YouTube

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lemmy | Documentary Film – Cosmos Documentaries | Watch Documentary Films Online

Motörhead – Ace Of Spades – YouTube

MC5 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

R.E.M. LYRICS – It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Los Angeles County inspection cards to include QR codes

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Ben Chapman

When I meet a non-food safety nerd in a social setting (most of which occur around kids hockey) the conversation usually turns to foods I avoid and restaurant scores. I avoid a few things (sprouts, raw oysters, undercooked meats) and I caution of the false sense of security of a high inspection grade.

I share that I go online and check out the inspection history of our favorite spots. I look for risk factors and whether a place has the same problems/mistakes/violations time after time.

According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is takings steps to make things easier for patrons interested in looking at a restaurant’s inspection history when they walk in the restaurant.

A new A, B, C grade card that would allow the public to access food facilities’ inspection history with their smartphones may soon appear in the windows of Los Angeles County restaurants.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials are recommending the county revise the grade cards to include a QR code, the dates of restaurants’ last three or four inspections and the inspector’s initials, according to a report submitted to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Monday.

The QR code, a tool that health departments in Pasadena and San Diego County use on their grade cards, would take smartphone users to the county’s online inspection database, which provides the health code violations observed during routine inspections.

“Between posting the grade card, having a QR code, having information on Yelp and having it on our website, we feel like we’ve touched all the bases for letting people know what the facility has the scored,” said Terri Williams, acting director of the county Department of Public Health’s environmental health division, which is responsible for inspecting more than 39,000 retail food facilities in the county between one and three times a year.

“You can demand to look at a paper copy, so this just makes it a little bit more accessible,” said Matt Sutton, vice president of government affairs and public policy for the California Restaurant Association.

Applesauce processed in Michigan recalled; pouches in our pantry made in France

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Ben Chapman

We won the the recalled product lottery again – almost. My kids eat about 15 foods.

Applesauce is a staple.

We buy all kinds – store brand jars, single-serve cups and no-spoon pouches (a school lunch favorites).

And a ~~mold-induced~~ recall of Materne North America Corp’s GoGo squeeZ pouches sent me to the pantry to check if we had any of the packages linked to the incident ~~with ‘gross and unpleasant’ mold~~.

We don’t. Our pouches are product of France.

Last year GoGo had Moldy applesauce, which can be more than just gross.

Materne North America Corp. (MNA) is voluntarily recalling specific packages of applesauce pouches due to potential adulteration from food product residue.

An announcement on GoGo squeeZ’s website said “we identified an issue in our recent production that led to the development of some common mold (like what can form on fruit) in a small number of pouches. An independent lab tested the mold, and an expert microbiologist determined that it poses no known health risk. However, we know mold is gross and unpleasant to look at or taste, and this is simply not the kind of experience we want you to have.”

The recalled applesauce pouches have a Best Before Date of 12/4/15-3/4/17 and a 5-digit production code beginning “US” followed by 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07 or 08, which consumers can identify on the back of the pouch or on the bottom of the box, and “Product of USA” displayed under the Nutrition Facts Panel on the box.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this issue. The food product residue was noted during a routine inspection by the Michigan State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), which revealed its presence in two product pumps at the Traverse City, Mich. production facility. It is possible the food product residue may have been incorporated into finished product.

There’s a lot of norovirus in schools

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Ben Chapman

Too much to keep track of.

Montvale Elementary School in Bedford County VA.

UC Berkley

Honey Creek Elementary School in Georgia

University of Regina

Clober Primary in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire

Wingate University in Charlotte

Here’s a food safety infosheet: Norovirus is a problem for campuses and cafeterias

No food is zero risk; raw dairy foods riskier than pasteurized

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Ben Chapman

“These products carry an increased risk for foodborne illness. For those who value avoiding foodborne illness, that’s good information to keep in mind.”

That’s what I told Korin Miller of Self today when she called about Maytag’s (the food company, not the appliance company) recall of blue cheese.

I’m one of the folks who value avoiding foodborne illness.

Whole Foods recently announced that it is issuing a nationwide recall of Maytag Raw Milk Blue Cheese due to concerns that it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

“There’s a risk with foods in general,” says Benjamin Chapman, Ph.D., an assistant (associate -ben) professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. “There’s an increased risk with raw dairy products.”

How much of a risk are we talking about? A 2012 CDC study that analyzed foodborne illness outbreaks tied to dairy from 1993 to 2006 found that 73 of the 121 outbreaks were associated with unpasteurized products. Of those outbreaks tied to unpasteurized products, there were 1,571 cases of foodborne illness, 202 hospitalizations, and two deaths.

Is it possible to pass a GFSI audit with a poor food safety culture?

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Ben Chapman

It’s not a headline so Betteridge’s Law isn’t in play.

A food safety friend shared this poll from the International Food Safety & Quality Network’s page.

The best comment on the forum is:

This happens all the time. A company ignores food safety for 9 or 10 months and then there is a big push to get everything in line prior to the audit. Once the audit results are in, back to business as usual. It’s sad, but true – in many cases management simply sees a certification as a marketing tool.

Audits don’t really measure food safety culture.

Or as we wrote in 2013, Audits and inspections are never enough: A critique to enhance food safety

Powell, D., Erdozain, M., Dodd, C. Morley, K., Costa, R. and Chapman, B. 2013.

Food Control. 30: 686-691.

Internal and external food safety audits are conducted to assess the safety and quality of food including on-farm production, manufacturing practices, sanitation, and hygiene. Some auditors are direct stakeholders that are employed by food establishments to conduct internal audits, while other auditors may represent the interests of a second-party purchaser or a third-party auditing agency. Some buyers conduct their own audits or additional testing, while some buyers trust the results of third-party audits or inspections. Third-party auditors, however, use various food safety audit standards and most do not have a vested interest in the products being sold. Audits are conducted under a proprietary standard, while food safety inspections are generally conducted within a legal framework. There have been many foodborne illness outbreaks linked to food processors that have passed third-party audits and inspections, raising questions about the utility of both. Supporters argue third-party audits are a way to ensure food safety in an era of dwindling economic resources. Critics contend that while external audits and inspections can be a valuable tool to help ensure safe food, such activities represent only a snapshot in time. This paper identifies limitations of food safety inspections and audits and provides recommendations for strengthening the system, based on developing a strong food safety culture, including risk-based verification steps, throughout the food safety system.

FDA and Virginia to Henry’s Farm: you can’t sell sprouts anymore

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Ben Chapman

Sometimes it’s time for a career change.

Folks change jobs for lots of reasons: boredom, a new challenge, opportunity, and others.

Or because of a consent decree of permanent injunction from a federal court.

According to an FDA news release, a Virginia soy bean sprout company Henry’s Farm Inc and owner Soo C. Park are not allowed to receive, process, manufacture, prepare, pack, hold or distribute ready-to-eat soybean and mung-bean sprouts.

Henry’s farm has been the example of a bad food safety culture with FDA warning them that the place was a dump in 2012. And the situation continued in 2014. And then a recall in 2015.

The FDA worked with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) in conjunction with the Virginia Rapid Response Team to conduct multiple inspections and collect an extensive amount of environmental, in-process, and finished sprout product samples from Henry’s Farm, Inc., several of which tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono).

Under the consent decree, the company cannot process or distribute food until they demonstrate that its facility and processing equipment are suitable to prevent contamination in the food that it processes, prepares, stores and handles. Henry’s Farm, Inc. must, among other things, retain an independent laboratory to collect and analyze samples for the presence of L. mono, retain an independent sanitation expert and develop a program to control L. mono and to eliminate unsanitary conditions at its facility. Once the company is permitted to resume operations, the FDA may still require the company to take action if the agency discovers future violations of food safety practices.

Food Safety Talk 91: Chipotle: The Musical

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Ben Chapman

They talk about what’s on their minds or in the news regarding food safety, and popular culture. They strive to be relevant, funny and informative — sometimes they succeed. You can download the audio recordings right from the website, or subscribe using iTunes.

Show notes and links so you can follow along at home:

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

Prisencolinensinainciusol (with lyrics) – YouTube

Watch Nespresso From Saturday Night Live – NBC.com

Glengarry Glen Christmas | Saturday Night Live – Yahoo Screen

Episodes – Here’s The Thing

Prisencolinensinainciusol – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adriano Celetano – Prisencolinensinainciusol – YouTube

Food Safety Talk 9: Two monitors and a microphone — Food Safety Talk Paul’s Boutique – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Conversations with the Dead: The Grateful Dead Interview Book – David Gans – Google Books

RTP180° – Food 2.0 – YouTube

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Site