Tag Archives: inspection

Third-party audits are one component of food safety; just one

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The former big cheese at CFIA says the most significant food safety development in the last decade has occurred outside public law — the extraordinary growth in the role of private-sector traceability systems characterized by third-party audits.

Ron Doering, a past president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency who practices food law in the Ottawa offices of Gowling Lafleur Henderson, LLP, writes in his monthly column for Food in Canada that large processors and retailers are requiring their suppliers to undergo regular inspections by third-party auditors. Producers, ingredient suppliers and processors must no longer simply have their own quality systems and meet government regulations; now they have to sign onerous supplier warranty agreements and open up their businesses to multiple audits. But these systems and their audit schemes have gone through some significant growing pains that have served to seriously undermine their credibility.

Doering says part of the problem seems to be confusion about the role of the auditor.

David Rideout, Canadian food safety expert, SQF auditor and trainer, says,
“Third-party auditors have to identify objective evidence of compliance or non-compliance and understand that they are not doing second-party audits. My job is not to provide guidance and advice to the company; if I do, my manager rejects my audit, as SQF auditors must draw a clear line between third-party (non-consultative) audits and providing advice to the company, which is the role of second-party audits.”

The largest international effort to bring greater rigor and standardization to third-party audit systems is the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), started 10 years ago, but only with improved training, more rigorous certification and systems that audit the auditors can third-party audits regain the public’s confidence.

And, as food safety expert Doug Powell of Kansas State has said, “Third-party audits are only one performance indicator and need to be supplemented with microbial testing, second-party audits of suppliers, and the in-house capacity to meaningfully assess the results of audits and inspections.”

Australian festival stalls hit by food safety orders

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The Canberra Times reports three food stalls at the National Multicultural Festival breached food safety regulations, resulting in health authorities having to destroy ”potentially contaminated” foods.

A team of seven public health officers were sent to the weekend’s festival in a crackdown on food stalls that saw roughly 100 inspections over Friday and Saturday.

The Health Protection Service treats the festival as a ”high risk event” for food safety, and regularly sends officers to make sure the festival’s huge range of food stalls comply with health standards.

The breaches found at this year’s multicultural festival were focused on food storage, temperature control and hand washing, an ACT Health spokeswoman told The Canberra Times.

Authorities were forced to destroy food from a number of stalls, and immediately resolved a number of hygiene breaches.

Canberra Multicultural Community Forum chairman Sam Wong said he hadn’t heard any concerns from stallholders about the food safety crackdown.

”I only praise the work of the health protection service, and we are happy to work with them and also work with the community to make things right. We are happy to listen to any concerns of any sort from all parts of the festival, not just the food.”

Super Bowl leads to super food safety stories

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Like many folks, Dani and I used to get together with a bunch of friends each year to watch the Super Bowl. And the event rarely lived up to the hype. While it was fun to hang out and exchange snarky comments about the half-time show, I never really ended up watching the game. Now I prefer to stay home, quietly watch (which I remind Dani is the last football game for 6+ months) in my recliner and make snarky comments about the halftime show online.

On the menu at our house this year was baby back ribs, baked potatoes and jalapeno poppers. Unhealthy eating and the Super Bowl go hand-in-hand.

In an attempt to exploit every possible Super Bowl storyline, ESPN rehashed one of their favorite investigative journalism methods and ran a profile on food safety at Indianapolis host site Lucas Oil Stadium.

Outside the Lines’" The File recently acquired 2011 Marion County health department inspection records for the 181 food and beverage outlets inspected at Lucas Oil Stadium and found that 25, or 14 percent, of the locations had critical violations that showed up during routine inspections. A 2010 "Outside the Lines" piece that examined food safety at all professional sports stadiums showed that about 7 percent of the vendors at Lucas Oil Stadium had racked up critical violations — problems that could lead to illness.
Among the violations found in the stadium were expired tomatoes and onions, a chef who didn’t wash his hands, a microwave covered in gunk, gnats in an onion bin and hamburger patties toiling in a steamer at lukewarm temperatures — a situation ripe for bacteria.
Expired tomatoes and onions? What does that mean?

Handwashing problems and not-so-hot-holding of cooked burgers are problems. Both actions have led to illnesses recently.
In a predictable turn, coverage went from the risky to yuck factor:
Lucas Oil Stadium first came under scrutiny over food practices in 2009, when a local TV station reported 42 critical food safety violations, including several that cited examples of dead mice or mice droppings near food and meal-preparation surfaces — even in an oven — and live mice running through a loge-level kitchen. The head of the county’s food safety program at the time said there was a "widespread rodent problem."

Not to be left out of the discussion, International Business Times also ran a story about food safety – this one about an illness that MVP Eli Manning’s had a couple of weeks ago. Although reported at the flu, a New York State MD, Dr. Gerald Deas thought that it was more likely that Eli was suffering from an E. coli infection.

The  quarterback may be getting ready to run his team’s offense Sunday in the 2012 Super Bowl, but in the days running up to the Giants’ 20-17 win in San Francisco on Jan. 23, he likely had E. Coli, according to Dr. Gerald W. Dean of New York.

The medical doctor wrote in a Feb. 1 column in Frost Illustrated, a local Indianapolis-area newspaper, that his professional opinion was that  was sick with E. Coli, despite the fact that it was reported that he had the flu.

"A few days prior to the battle of the Giants with the San Francisco 49ers, Eli Manning was struck in his gut with a bacteria known as E. coli. It was reported in the press thathe had had a bout with the flu, which I doubted," Dr. Dean wrote Feb. 1 in Frost Illustrated. "It was further reported that he missed practice for the big game due to running back and forth to relieve himself, which could have been diarrhea."
Dr. Dean goes on to say that as he examined press photographs and videos of Eli Manning in the days leading up to the NFC Championship "it was obvious that he was washed out and looked totally dehydrated, which diarrhea can cause."

"Personally, I think all superstars, whether they be man or animals should be carefully monitored for drugs, diet and drinking habits before championship games or races," Dr. Dean wrote. "Millions of dollars are being bet on the outcome of a particular event and something like a simple bacteria such as E. coli can change the outcome of a sporting event and its participants."

Uh, yeah, that’s some nice detective work there. Could have been noro as well.
 

Food safety and public hygiene officers in decline in Australia too

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Public health is often on the front-line of budgetary restrictions.

And there’s indifference.

Same in Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that students seeking to work for local government as environmental health officers to monitor public health laws such as food safety, water contamination and hygienic practices, are in decline, according to Curtin University.

The trouble has been competition with the mining sector, according to a university spokeswoman (the money sector, in Australia).

Environmental Health Australia’s state president Vic Andrich acknowledged the decline, saying local government as the prime employer of environmental health graduates had not provided competitive salary packages and promoted careers in environmental health.

He said the lack of action by the Department of Health in maintaining local government EHO numbers was questioned by the Auditor General in 2004 in the Food Safety Report, and raised again at the EHA WorkForce Summit 2007.

Mr Andrich however argued that any removal of Western Australia’s only fully accredited environmental health degree course will further compound the shortage of degree qualified EHOs to safeguard public health in WA.

The university has been reviewing the need to run the environmental health major in its bachelor of science (health, safety, and environment) course, as well as the health and safety major.

"At this stage Curtin University can confirm that there is no final decision to cancel this major," the spokeswoman said.

"The university is currently investigating the feasibility to review the content of the two majors to develop a single degree that may meet the standards of the professional bodies.

The university has also not accepted any new enrolments for the master of environmental health and postgraduate diploma in environmental health this year.

Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club shut down for health code violations

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Celebrities get into the restaurant biz, so celebrity followers are getting into the restaurant inspection biz.

After the New York Post reported this morning that Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club piled up enough infractions during a recent health department inspection to shutter the place, celebrity news site, TMZ, cited a rep as saying, it was just bad luck because a refrigerator died just before the inspector showed up.

But Ron Berkowitz says the staff identified the problem immediately and had no intention of serving the food from that fridge. Berkowitz says the fridge was fixed by noon the next day and the club was permitted to re-open.

Except it was more than the fridge.

Other infractions included mixing salsa with bare hands, no thermometer or thermocouple, and inadequate personal cleanliness.

The refrigerator was at a rancid 60 degrees instead of 41 — jeopardizing the safety of 50 pounds of raw chicken wings, five pounds of raw shrimp and 100 turkey burgers, the sources said.

Five pounds of cooked mashed potatoes were left out at a temperature of 89 degrees, while 10 pounds of cooked rice and 50 turkey burgers were kept at 67 degrees.

All the hot foods should be at least 140 degrees, the sources said.

The club’s restaurant was immediately closed, and new patrons were barred from entering. Those already inside were allowed to remain.

“If you have a walk-in place with food like this, you put a hell of a lot of people at risk,” said the source. “A night of dinner and dancing should not include the risk of contracting foodborne illness.”

A night earlier, the hip-hop mogul held an A-list party to reopen the hotspot, which was closed for 10 months for a $10 million makeover. Famous guests included Russell Simmons, Spike Lee, Lance Bass and Warren Buffett.

Yummy House closed for yummy cockroaches in Vegas

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The aptly named Yummy House took on a new meaning after the Las Vegas eatery was closed when health types found at least one employee not washing hands properly; blockage in hand sink; hand sink was leaking; pink, slimy growth found on inside of ice machine; a white, fuzzy, mold-like growth on produce, food stored at the wrong temperature and no working thermometer in the refrigerator.

Containers of food were also not labeled properly and some were stored on the floor. Containers were double stacked and missing lids. Also, equipment including metal pans were severely dented and the staff was reusing single-use plastic cups.

The Health District told KTNV that the owners have decided to close indefinitely and are not sure if they will reopen.

Poultry inspection changes proposed; see me, hear me, touch me, feel me don’t work so well with bacterial detection

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In about three hours, as I blissfully sleep, U.S. ag-types will take to the PR circuit to advance a new program for poultry inspection.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. would increase oversight of poultry processors’ sanitary practices and contamination controls instead of visually checking each chicken and turkey for scabs and sores under a plan that would save the industry $250 million a year.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the proposal, to be presented today, may prevent 5,200 foodborne illnesses a year by modernizing and making the system more efficient by taking the emphasis off visual imperfections that can harm poultry sales rather than improve safety.

“It’s obviously about safer food and fewer foodborne illnesses,” Vilsack said in an interview. “It’s also about reducing the cost of production in an effective way without redundancy or compromising safety.”

The U.S. would save as much as $40 million a year within two or three years, in part through the elimination of inspection jobs, Vilsack said. Last week, the secretary announced a reorganization of his agency that would lower spending by about $150 million a year, or 1 percent of the department’s budget. The public will have 90 days to comment on the proposal.

The USDA would continue to inspect poultry carcasses at the end of the production line before they are chilled and will be on site at all times, Vilsack said. Slaughter operators have the option of requesting the U.S. continue visual inspections for blemishes, according to the proposed regulation.

Gary Mickelson, a spokesman for Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN), in an e-mail. Tyson, based in Springdale, Arkansas and the largest U.S. chicken producer by volume, participated in the pilot program testing the new inspection rules.

“This modified system reduces redundancies between company and USDA inspection efforts and gives USDA’s staff more flexibility to focus on other things that verify the effectiveness of our food safety activities,” said Mickelson, adding that Tyson has not yet seen the proposed regulation.

The pilot program with 25 poultry processors conducted over more than a decade found no increased risk of injuries to workers from the faster production line and showed the effort to be successful, said Elisabeth Hagen, undersecretary for food safety at the USDA, in an interview.

Inspectors began visually inspecting poultry for physical defects in 1906, before it was possible to detect microbial contamination that can’t be seen and poses a hazard, he said.

What is the value of government oversight? Lots of rhetoric, little reality

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Folks who produce and sell food should not make their customers barf.

And they should not require the government to babysit.

But the California cantaloupe growers have decided to follow the leafy greens types and ask the government to make sure bad producers are kept in check, because apparently they can’t do it themselves.

At the end of a meeting yesterday to figure out what to do to bolster consumer confidence in cantaloupes after 32 died from listeria last fall, the best growers could come up with is government oversight.

Scott Horsfall, President and CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement said, “When our program was formed in 2007, it was very clear to our industry that mandatory government oversight was the best way to verify compliance with food safety standards. Government inspectors are uniquely positioned to provide independent food safety audits because they are a true independent third-party audit with safeguards in place to prevent conflicts of interest.”

Got any references for that? As an outside observer, the LGMA has succeeded in toning down public discussion of lettuce outbreaks; that’s it.

Horsfall added, with the dutiful reference to food safety culture without stating what it means that, “No food safety system is perfect. … The goal is to create a culture of food safety in our operations and this is something we have succeeded in doing. It is the right thing to do.”

Got any references for that? Data? Evidence of any kind?

To build public trust and foster a food safety culture, make inspection data truly transparent, brag about accomplishments with data, not rhetoric, and market all those fabulous food safety efforts at retail using multiple media and multiple messages so consumers actually have a choice.

Inspections don’t make safe food, holds people accountable; FSIS food safety inspection presence unaffected by office closures

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“Offices don’t inspect, even then inspections don’t make food safe. It is up to the producers, the processors and the retailers. Inspections only hold people accountable. It is up to the industry to make food safe, not the inspection services -they are ultimately responsible for the products they produce.”

Or something like that as I, described as US-based food safety professor and blogger Doug Powell, chatted to the British reporter in France in the late Australian hours about a U.S. food safety policy decision.

Mark Astley of Food Quality News writes that US food safety and inspection efforts will not be hit, despite plans to close a third of Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) district offices, according to the US government.

The closures are part of the USDA’s Blueprint for Stronger Service plan, which will see the closure of almost 260 offices, facilities and labs across the US.

FoodQualityNews.com understands that the changes will impact inspection reporting structure but will not affect the inspection duties performed in the districts.

Don’t bring me down; California cantaloupe growers going government way, want state marketing order

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Is government inspection better at ensuring safe produce?

Steve Patricio, Chairman of the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board, provided the following statement today during a Cantaloupe Food Safety press conference:

"The California cantaloupe industry has never been associated with a foodborne illness outbreak. However, in the past 20 years, the California cantaloupe industry has invested in research to ensure our growing, harvesting and packing practices are the safest possible. We were the first commodity group to work with government agencies, scientists and food safety experts to craft Commodity Specific Guidance for Melons and we are 100 percent committed to continuing work to improve the existing guidance and to funding new priority research projects that will lead to a safer product for consumers.

"In keeping with the leadership position we have always taken with respect to food safety, the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board is pledging today to move forward to establish a mandatory state marketing order with government oversight to focus on food safety in the production of California cantaloupe. We are asking for and anticipate participation from other western cantaloupe producing regions and we hope that other cantaloupe producers around the world will follow our lead."

"We are taking this step for two reasons — first because it is the right thing to do. Consumers must be assured that our products are safe. Additionally, it was made clear by the participants at yesterdays Center for Produce Safety working symposium that the trade is demanding nothing less than a program based upon mandatory government inspections. The California cantaloupe industry intends to quickly act and to have such a program in place prior to the coming harvest season."