Author Archives: Ben Chapman

Ben Chapman

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.

Using observation to evaluate training: Canadian High School edition

Posted on by
Reply

A couple of old friends Shannon Majowicz and Ken Diplock and colleagues from Waterloo, (that’s in Canada) are doing good work looking at food safety stuff with high school students- evaluating training efficacy using observation. They published their work demonstrating some sustained food safety behaviors following a training program, this month in the Journal of Food Protection.

Kenneth J. Diplock, Joel A. Dubin, Scott T. Leatherdale, David Hammond, Andria Jones-Bitton, and Shannon E. Majowicz. 2018. Observation of High School Students’ Food Handling Behaviors: Do They Improve following a Food Safety Education Intervention?

Greenbank High School Birkdale Merseyside.

Journal of Food Protection: June 2018, Vol. 81, No. 6, pp. 917-925

Youth are a key audience for food safety education. They often engage in risky food handling behaviors, prepare food for others, and have limited experience and knowledge of safe food handling practices. Our goal was to investigate the effectiveness of an existing food handler training program for improving safe food handling behaviors among high school students in Ontario, Canada. However, because no schools agreed to provide control groups, we evaluated whether behaviors changed following delivery of the intervention program and whether changes were sustained over the school term. We measured 32 food safety behaviors, before the intervention and at 2-week and 3-month follow-up evaluations by in-person observations of students (n = 119) enrolled in grade 10 and 12 Food and Nutrition classes (n = 8) and who individually prepared recipes. We examined within-student changes in behaviors across the three time points, using mixed effects regression models to model trends in the total food handling score (of a possible 32 behaviors) and subscores for “clean” (17 behaviors), “separate” (14 behaviors), and “cook” (1 behavior), adjusting for student characteristics. At baseline, students (n = 108) averaged 49.1% (15.7 of 32 behaviors; standard deviation = 5.8) correct food handling behaviors, and only 5.5% (6) of the 108 students used a food thermometer to check the doneness of the chicken (the “cook” behavior). All four behavior score types increased significantly ∼2 weeks postintervention and remained unchanged ∼3 months later. Student characteristics (e.g., having taken a prior food handling course) were not significant predictors of the total number of correctly performed food handling behaviors or of the “clean” or “separate” behaviors, and frequency of cooking and self-described cooking ability were the only characteristics significantly associated with food thermometer use (i.e., “cook”). Despite the significant increase in correct behaviors, students continued to use risky practices postintervention, suggesting that the risk of foodborne disease remained.

Electrolyzed water: a pretty good review

Posted on by
Reply

An old friend of the blog emailed today looking for some info for someone he was working with who wanted to know about whether electrolyzed water, on it’s own, was a good replacement for sanitizers.

I came across this 2016 review paper in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety.

Electrolyzed Water as a Novel Sanitizer in the Food Industry: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

SME Rahman, Imran Khan, and Deog-Hwan Oh

Abstract:

Electrolyzed water (EW) has gained immense popularity over the last few decades as a novel broad-spectrum sanitizer. EW can be produced using tap water with table salt as the singular chemical additive. The application of EW is a sustainable and green concept and has several advantages over traditional cleaning systems including cost effectiveness, ease of application, effective disinfection, on-the-spot production, and safety for human beings and the environment. These features make it an appropriate sanitizing and cleaning system for use in high-risk settings such as in hospitals and other healthcare facilities as well as in food processing environments. EW also has the potential for use in educational building, offices, and entertainment venues. However, there have been a number of issues related to the use of EW in various sectors including limited knowledge on the sanitizing mechanism. AEW, in particular, has shown limited efficacy on utensils, food products, and surfaces owing to various factors, the most important of which include the type of surface, presence of organic matter, and type of tape water used. The present review article highlights recent developments and offers new perspectives related to the use of EW in various areas, with particular focus on the food industry.

Michigan’s hepatitis A problem is a public health cycle

Posted on by
Reply

Next month I’ll be in Michigan talking food safety with Don at a live podcast recording as part of the Global Food Law Current Issues Conference.

Added to the list for our chat is a local issue, a massive hepatitis A outbreak. Tragically, according to USA Today, the outbreak has been linked to 27 deaths and hundreds of cases.

Wrapped up in this outbreak is the intersection of intravenous drug use; individuals in the homeless population; and, folks working in food service. Public health is complicated.

Most of those who have died in Michigan in this outbreak are 50 or older, Fielder said. And they died of liver failure, septic shock or other organ failure.

“Generally, it’s been people who are more sick or people who have less access to health care,” Fielder said. “You know, we’ve also seen a homeless component to this. We’re seeing this driven by a substance use disorder risk group.”

People who use illegal drugs account for about half of outbreak-related cases..

“It’s a very hard group to reach, and it’s a very hard group to get public health messaging to. There’s a lot of trust issues with government entities in general. So there’s a lot of outreach going out from local public health to … people they do trust in the community.”

As of Wednesday before Memorial Day, the hardest hit areas are Macomb County, north of Detroit, with 220 cases; Detroit itself with 170; elsewhere in Wayne County, where Detroit is located, with 144; and Oakland County, to the west of Macomb County where Pontiac is located, with 114 cases, according to the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services.

Part of the problem: As many as 35 restaurant workers in the Detroit area were found to have the virus and may have spread it unknowingly to diners. The virus is contagious weeks before a person begins to exhibit symptoms, which makes it extremely challenging for public health officials to manage.

It’s a bad day when your office is raided: Belgian food safety agency edition

Posted on by
Reply

In July 2017 Belgian food safety authorities publicly released information about a pesticide, fipronil, found in eggs leading to millions of eggs recalled.

The announcement came a month after the government knew about it.

‘Food safety recalls are always either too early or too late. If you’re right, it’s always too late. If you’re wrong, it’s always too early.’

That’s what Paul Mead was quoted as saying in response to when to go public with outbreak information over a decade ago. 

During foodborne illness outbreaks and incidents information is evolving – what people know, and when the share it can impact public health, and buyer decisions. Go public too late and stuff remains on the market. Go public too early risks making a wrong decision.

Doug, Sol Erdozian and I wrote a paper in the Journal of Environmental Health where we look at how to go public with food safety info.

There’s no magic answer; just have a plan and a set of criteria to look at when making the decision of what to share when. Talk about uncertainty. And don’t make it up on the fly.

And be prepared for folks to look for what you knew, when you knew it, and what you did about it after.

Like what happened in Belgium today. According to Reuters, FASFC had a visit from government prosecutors.

Belgian prosecutors said on Tuesday they had raided the premises of the country’s food safety agency over an insecticide scandal in eggs that rattled European consumers last summer.

“The judicial investigation concerns the spreading of false information about the fipronil contamination in eggs in 2017,” prosecutors said in a statement, adding the investigation was ongoing.

Last summer, German authorities blamed their Belgian counterparts for not communicating sooner about a possible fipronil contamination. Belgium’s farm minister denied the accusations at the time.

My leafy green conundrum

Posted on by
Reply

Caesar salad isn’t even the best salad.

It’s the kind of salad you expect at a sports team banquet or during lunch at an all-day meeting.

It’s a safe menu choice.

Except for the past month when foodborne illness outbreak investigators have focused on Romaine lettuce as the culprit of an outbreak of E. coli O157 linked to over 170 illnesses in 32 states.

E. coli O157 historically was once only associated with ground beef making it’s first appearance as what was thought to be a rare strain in 1982 after an outbreak was traced to McDonald’s. In 1993 over 500 illnesses and 4 deaths were linked to Jack-in-the-Box restaurants , an event that brought foodborne illness to the national stage. Fast forward 35+ years and the devastating pathogen has caused illnesses after being consumed in cookie dough, hazelnuts, alfalfa sprouts, soy nut butter, chicken salad – and a whole bunch of fresh produce including leafy greens.

The very type of food we should eat more of betrays us at a higher rate compared to other foods: Fresh produce is believed to be the source of almost half of all foodborne illnesses in the U.S.

Because it is consumed raw, anything that fresh fruit and vegetables come in contact with from the field to the home can really only increase risk. Washing and rinsing can remove at most 99% of what’s there. Microbiologically speaking, because there may be tens of thousands of cells on a leaf of Romaine, that’s not a whole lot. Often produce-related outbreaks are linked to poop getting into the food somewhere — wildlife on the farm; water used for irrigation or rinsing; soil and/or manure; or, the people who harvest, pack, handle and prepare it.

The problem with this outbreak is that the world of food safety sleuths have yet to figure it out. This one is particularly hard because the supply chain is a mess and  investigators are trying to piece together what the farms and packing facilities looked like, food safety-wise, retroactively. Partners in figuring out outbreaks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have only been able to trace the problem to a specific geographic location – Romaine that was grown in the Yuma, AZ region.

Having a good sense of the supply chain for food, so outbreaks and incidents can be solved, is something that the industry has struggled with for decades. Even with the increased use of electronic records and the promise of blockchain, the data that gets recorded and shared relate to location and how food safety is managed from production to distribution to the grocery store still relies on people to input it.

Better traceability is often held up as a magic bullet but can’t really stop outbreaks from happening alone. Being able to trace a product is wholly reactive. While it is part of a good food safety culture even a good traceability program doesn’t wipe raw poop off of foods.

What keeps food safe is vigilance by the food industry, learning from past outbreaks and focusing on carrying out best practices daily. Lots of food companies talk about food safety. Implementing it daily is much harder. It takes a system throughout the entire company from the front-line staff all the way to the CEO that values food safety. Everyone needs to understand why food safety matters, what their role is and care about the folks who eat their products.

Where I grew up, there was a small tailgate farmers market Saturday mornings in the parking lot adjacent to the grocery store. I never really wondered whether the food sold there was safe. I didn’t think a whole lot about food safety and regulation until years later. I figured that if someone could sell it, they must know what they are doing, and I didn’t have to worry about it.

Food safety is all about trust, and I had lots of it.

I still do.

But over 75 outbreaks linked to leafy greens since 1995 is eroding that trust.

 

Food Safety Talk 154: Poop Finger Quote

Posted on by
Reply

Today’s show opens with some quick beverage talk and then moves to a discussion of podcasting (and teleconferencing) gear.  A brief segue into pop-culture is followed by a deep dive into how to develop science-based advise to consumers.  The safety of bed-side water, the ongoing romaine outbreak, and Listeria in mashed potatoes round out the food safety news.  Listener feedback and a promo for the upcoming live podcast at MSU end the show.

It’s Not the Mayonnaise: Food Safety Myths & Summertime Food

Posted on by
1

Matt Shipman, Research Communications Lead at NC State News Services (and all-around great guy) writes,

When folks get sick after a picnic, people often blame the potato salad. Or the chicken salad. Or whatever other side dish was made with mayonnaise. But that’s usually not the culprit.

“It’s not always the potato salad…except when it’s the potato salad,” says Ben Chapman, a food safety researcher at NC State University. “There are lots of other foods at a cookout that can also lead to illnesses.”

Potato Salad

When it is the potato salad, the culprits are usually Staphylococcus aureus or Clostridium perfringens. And a combination of factors can lead to problems. In most “salads” of this type, low-acid potatoes, chicken, pasta or hard-boiled eggs are added to the mayonnaise. The mayonnaise is acidified to make it safe, but the low acidity of the potatoes (or foods) offsets the acidity of the mayonnaise, creating an environment where bacteria can thrive.

That sets the stage. Then poor hygiene comes into play. S. aureus, for example, can often be found on our faces, particularly around the eyes or nose. So, S. aureus can be introduced to salads when people touch their face and then – without washing their hands – touch the food.

However, in order for bacteria to become a problem, there also has to be “temperature abuse,” meaning that the potato salad isn’t kept below 41°F.

“For example, above 90°F, foodborne pathogens in potato salad increase tenfold in as quickly as an hour,” Chapman says. “In ideal temperatures for bacteria, such as body temperature, bacterial populations can double in less than 20 minutes.”

So, it’s rarely the mayonnaise. Instead, it’s the combination of mayonnaise and other salad ingredients, plus poor hygiene and poor temperature control.

But, in rare cases, it can be the potatoes. An outbreak of botulism poisoning in 2015 stemmed from potato salad made using potatoes that had been canned improperly by a home cook.

“Potatoes need to be ‘pressure canned,’ using a boiling water bath,” Chapman says. “These potatoes weren’t, which led to 29 illnesses and two deaths – the largest botulism poisoning in 40 years.”

Why It’s Not the Mayonnaise (And When It Could Be)

A big reason that mayonnaise rarely causes foodborne illness these days is that most people buy their mayonnaise, rather than making it from scratch.

“Commercially produced mayonnaise is acidified to reduce spoilage and kill off human pathogens,” Chapman says. “It’s really low risk on its own.”

However, many mayo recipes for the home cook don’t include acid, which makes it possible for pathogens – like S. aureus, C. perfringens and Salmonella – to grow and become a health risk.

“So, if you’re making mayonnaise at home, pick a recipe that uses pasteurized egg products and incorporates acid – such as vinegar or lemon juice – to reduce risk” Chapman says. “And refrigeration is still incredibly important, as recipes may not incorporate enough acid to address risks.”

More Likely Culprits

If it’s probably not the mayonnaise salad, what are the more likely culprits behind foodborne illness? The answer may surprise you.

“Fresh fruits and vegetables are responsible for more outbreaks of foodborne illness than any other type of food; they’ve been linked to 46 percent of foodborne illnesses between 1998 and 2008,” Chapman says.

That does not mean that you shouldn’t eat your fruits and veggies. Just beware of risks.

Unfortunately, in most cases, contaminated produce was contaminated before the consumer bought it – at any point between the field where it was grown and the shelf where the consumer picked it up.

That said, you can still take steps to reduce risk

First, you really want to avoid cross contamination, which is when pathogens from uncooked food (like raw meat) are transferred to food that’s ready to eat. That can happen if you don’t wash your hands, for instance, or if you use the same cutting board for cutting chicken and preparing salad.

You can also reduce risk by washing your produce – though that won’t eliminate risk altogether.

And, if you are growing your own fruits and vegetables, make sure you’re that you are following some fundamental food safety guidelines for gardeners: using a clean water source (not your rain barrel); keeping wildlife from contaminating your garden; keeping your hands and gardening gear clean; and not using uncomposted manure.

As for grilling, check out our “5 Things You Should Know About Grilling Burgers (To Avoid Getting Sick).” There are good tips in there!

Bon appétit!

Modeling food held out on a hot day

Posted on by
Reply

The unofficial start of the summer is this weekend in the U.S. – Memorial day. Folks will be bbqing, cooking out, grilling out, whatever.

There’s a recommendation from USDA that on a hot day, above 90F/32C that food shouldn’t sit out for more than an hour. I couldn’t find a good reference for this. So I started texting Don.

He wasn’t answering. (I found out later it was because he was doing an interview with CBC, that’s a radio/TV network in Canada).

I started looking at a Conference for Food Protection document on how to handle food decisions at retail when the power goes out. Not exactly what I was looking for – all the modeling starts at 41F and doesn’t get as hot as I was looking for.

Then Don finally answered and suggested this paper on Salmonella in cut tomatoes.

Getting warmer.

I finally got into Combase and generated a couple of no-lag growth models for staph (in something like potato salad) and Salmonella. 

The staph model doesn’t go as high as 90F/32C so it’s a bit conservative different. But the Salmonella model shows a 1 log increase in just over an hour.

So yeah, hot days matter.

 

It’s not the water I’m worried about

Posted on by
Reply

The situation that Life Hacker’s Nick Douglas presented to me was (I’m paraphrasing here slightly): hey, I’m gonna leave a glass of water out over night and I know it’s not going to be a problem after a couple of hours, but I can’t leave that water there for a few weeks can I, because it will go bad, right?

My answer (paraphrased as well) I guess it depends what you mean by bad. The water will probably taste different the longer it sits there. Yeast, mold and algae might float into it, but as far as pathogens go, my take is that it’s really low risk.

I told him that the water wasn’t the issue, it’s what gets introduced to the water like food debris or some other nutrient source. And then a pathogen. Or poop. Poop has both.

My quote was, ‘What would matter is if, like, someone had poop on their finger and stuck it in there.’

It’s not like I thought water rots, OK? I just thought that there’s enough bacteria floating around a home, or in tap water, or on your lips when you take a sip, that given a month alone in a glass, it might grow and then make you sick. But, as food safety specialist Dr. Benjamin Chapman tells me in a mildly embarrassing phone call, it won’t.

But there must be some way it could, right? Yes, Dr. Chapman says, if you didn’t wash the glass properly, and left a nutrient like juice or other sugary remnants. 

But even if you’ve drunk out of the glass, getting your mouth on it, leaving a lip print, and then leaving out the glass — even then, he says, you’re not going to poison yourself with your own mouth bacteria.

Obviously, if the water supply is contaminated, all bets are off. If it was toxic when it left the tap, it’s still toxic after sitting out. But apparently, as long as it started out fine, even super-gross-tasting old water is healthy to drink, and I’m an ignorant hydrophobe. Fine. But I’m not alone. I only got curious because cooking blog The Kitchn asked the same question — or maybe they were stating the obvious for rubes like me.

Food Safety Talk 153: While They Are Poopin’

Posted on by
Reply

Don and Ben talk about human pathogens in produce and trying to define baseline for prevalence (which is complicated, and it depends). The conversation then goes to a discussion on Don’s appearance on Do By Friday and where podcasts fit into extension and outreach. The show ends on some listener feedback and the guys trying to figure out the history of consumer-focused storage time/temperature guidance.

Man in the bathroom checking internet with iPhone 5s smartphone, always connected.

Episode 153 is available on iTunes and here.

Show notes so you can follow along at home: