Maybe? USDA says antimicrobial wash reduces health risks in fresh produce

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Douglas Powell

An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, and his collaborators have developed an antimicrobial wash that reduces the risk of foodborne pathogens contaminating fresh produce.

Joshua Gurtler and scientists at NatureSeal Inc. have found that a combination of lactic acid, fruit acids, and hydrogen peroxide can be used in a produce rinse for commercial food distributors. NatureSeal, based in Westport, Connecticut, already markets an anti-browning wash developed by another ARS team in the 1990’s for sliced apples and 18 other types of produce.

E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens sicken approximately 1 in 6 Americans (48 million people) each year. A recent U.S. outbreak of Salmonella associated with cucumbers sickened over 765 people in 36 states and killed 4.

First Step+ 10 is designed to reduce those numbers, and is expected to be used in the commercial flumes and rinse tanks that wash fresh produce, Gurtler says.

The ingredients are all classified as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The wash also has been approved for use in Canada; is U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic; is biodegradable; and does not affect the taste, texture, smell, or appearance of produce.

To save water, some food processors reuse wash water, a practice that can contaminate produce in subsequent washes. Along with reducing the risk of contamination, the new rinse will cut back on waste water because processors won’t have to replace water in their tanks as frequently.

To test First Step+ 10, Gurtler inoculated fresh cut apples, baby spinach, cantaloupe rind, and cherry tomatoes with highly resistant outbreak strains of E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, and Salmonella. He soaked them in the wash for 5 minutes and then measured pathogen levels in the wash water and on the produce. The antimicrobial wash reduced pathogen levels on the produce by 99.99 percent. It also rid the wash water of 100 percent of pathogens, making it safer to reuse.

Along with securing FDA approval, Gurtler and his collaborators at NatureSeal have filed a patent application and presented findings at scientific meetings.

ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency.

Read more about this work in the January 2016 issue of AgResearch.

Laws are like catfish sausages

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Ben Chapman

I feel so much better about the safety of my catfish now. And have a better understanding of non-tariff trade barriers.

According to the New York Times, After years of delay, the Agriculture Department on Wednesday established tough new rules to inspect imported catfish, yielding to pressure from domestic catfish producers that risks retaliation from America’s trade partners.

The rules come seven years after lawmakers from the South, at the request of catfish farmers in states like Mississippi and Arkansas, helped secure legislation in the 2008 farm law that moved inspections of catfish from the Food and Drug Administration to a more rigorous program at a new office within the Agriculture Department. Domestic producers of catfish called it a safety measure, but opponents said the new inspection program was a veiled trade barrier intended to limit imports.

“The point of this process has been to ensure that the farm-raised catfish served to American families is safe and nutritious. The U.S.D.A. is in the best position to get this done,” said Senator Thad Cochran, Republican of Mississippi, who pressed to have the inspections moved.

Market it at retail: Food safety marketing helps pave path to success at produce auction

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Finding new ways to market the safety and quality of your food is the key to success in the agricultural industry.

This is especially true for our small and mid-sized growers who are looking to expand to various outlets. These growers are now turning to produce auctions as a way to sell their food to a wider range of customers such as retail wholesale buyers and farmers markets outside their local communities.

In a recent trip to the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction in Dayton, Va., I saw approximately 400 growers use this auction to share their bountiful harvest. Taking place several times a year, the largest wholesale auction in Virginia is an excellent alternative market for small growers. Prospective buyers bid intensely to procure large lots of fruits, vegetables, flowers, bedding plants, trees and shrubs, fall decor (pumpkins, mums, gourds), and compost, to name a few.

During the auction, it was exciting to see growers showcasing their commitment to food safety. In fact, the Shenandoah Valley website promotes their growers who are audit certified for Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) as recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Obtaining GAP certification has traditionally been a roadblock for many small farmers; however, the new GroupGAP Pilot Program facilitates the certification process for small and mid-sized growers. The GAP-certified growers can now meet the food safety requirements of wholesale buyers who come to the auction with the promise of offering large contracts.

I took the trip to Dayton with my colleagues from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). This included Associate Administrator Rex Barnes and Specialty Crops Program Associate Deputy Administrator Dr. Melissa Bailey. The AMS Specialty Crops Inspection Division (SCI) performs voluntary GAP audits so they were especially proud to see growers using this service to market their food at the auction.

To date, our SCI Division has performed over 3,800 GAP/GHP audits. Looking to the future, we are excited at the possibility of increasing this number as we implement the GroupGAP Program later this spring. This program will allow growers to work together to get certified as a group, helping them meet food safety requirements to the increasing demand for local food.

GAP certification is a top priority for USDA and we recognize the positive impact it has on our local communities. We saw a great example in our trip to a school that purchases much of its food directly from the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction. Each purchase creates economic opportunities for our growers and a bright future for students eating the healthy foods. USDA is committed to helping our nation’s growers meet food safety requirements – a win for us all.

FSIS releases new guide to help food processors control potential allergens, other hazards

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has released new guidelines to assist meat, poultry, and processed egg product producers in properly managing ingredients that could trigger adverse reactions among consumers with allergies or other sensitivities.

“Our mission as a public health agency is to protect America’s most vulnerable populations, including children, from harm, and these new guidelines do just that,” said USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Al Almanza. “Beyond keeping our families safe, these guidelines also provide a useful tool to help food companies avoid preventable, costly recalls.”

Food allergens are a public health issue impacting millions of Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that two percent of adults, and four to eight percent of children, in the United States have food allergies. Food allergens can cause serious symptoms and can result in anaphylaxis, a potentially life threatening reaction.

Over the last several years, in part due to new actions by FSIS, there has been an increase in recalls of FSIS regulated products due to undeclared allergens. These problems often are caught by FSIS inspectors during labeling checks and are the result of changes to ingredient suppliers, products being placed in the wrong package, or changes to product or ingredient formulations.

By following these new guidelines, establishments are more likely to ensure that product labels declare all ingredients, as required by law, and that products do not contain undeclared allergens or other undeclared ingredients. The guidance covers prevention and control measures of potentially allergic ingredients, packaging, labeling, storage, checklists, and allergen training, among others.

The finalized guidelines are part of FSIS’ comprehensive and ongoing efforts to reduce the number of allergen-related recalls. In April 2015, FSIS inspectors met with management at every FSIS-regulated establishment in the country to discuss whether the establishment produces items containing allergens, and, if so, whether the establishment had a process in place to ensure proper labeling. FSIS inspectors then increased the number of allergen labeling-related inspection checks they conduct in these establishments in order to ensure products are properly labeled. The Agency believes that this action has made plants more conscious of properly labeling their products and prevented additional recalls this year.

The guidelines can be found online at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/AllergenGuide

Over the past six years, USDA has collaborated extensively with other federal partners to safeguard America’s food supply, prevent foodborne illnesses and improve consumers’ knowledge about the food they eat. USDA’s FSIS is working to strengthen federal food safety efforts and develop strategies that emphasize a three-dimensional approach to prevent foodborne illness: prioritizing prevention; strengthening surveillance and enforcement; and improving response and recovery.

Dumbing down food safety: Alvin and the Chipmunks to school kids on food safety

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Douglas Powell

If food safety was simple, as so many industry, academic and government types remind us, then why do so many people get sick?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Ad Council are teaming up with 20th Century FOX to launch a series of public service advertisements featuring Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The TV, radio, web and out-of-home ads–aimed at educating children and parents about the importance of food safety–will be centered around four basic food safety steps:

Clean – Wash hands with soap and warm water before and after handling raw food.

Separate:

Cook: Cook foods to the safe temperature by using a food thermometer.

Chill: Chill foods promptly if not consuming immediately after cooking.

Warm water is irrelevant and USDA knows this, but they continue to go with soundbites.

Also, USDA forgets one step the World Health Organization likes to include: Source food from safe sources.

And Jason Lee: Really?

Camera system detects foodborne toxin

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Chemist Reuven Rasooly and his colleagues at the Agricultural Research Service’s Western Regional Research Center (WRRC) in Albany, California, have developed a simple and inexpensive system for detecting biologically active Shiga toxin, a product of pathogenic Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7. It is estimated that E. coli O157:H7 causes 73,000 cases of food poisoning and more than 60 deaths in the United States each year.

The new system involves the use of a camera and a light-emitting source to biologically determine active toxin. Affordable, sensitive devices like this are needed to reduce the sources and incidence of foodborne illness, says Rasooly, who works in WRRC’s Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research Unit. Current immunological tests, such as the ELISA, cannot distinguish between the active and inactive form of Shiga toxin.

“For example, in food processing, a heat-treatment method inactivates the toxin, but the ELISA cannot tell whether the toxin is active or inactive in the processed food,” Rasooly says. “Determining the activity of the toxin is very important, because the active form poses a threat to humans. The inactive form is nontoxic.”

Technology used to detect Shiga toxin and other pathogens is expensive and not a concern for resource-rich countries, he says. But equipment is typically too costly for developing countries, where the risk of foodborne illness and outbreaks is greatest. The camera system makes it easy and affordable for diagnostic labs that cannot afford a fluorometer, which is typically used to detect toxins.

“We demonstrated that our system is effective in measuring Shiga toxin activity compared with equipment costing 100 times more,” Rasooly says. “Afluorometer costs about $35,000, whereas the camera in this experiment costs $300.”

In the study, scientists constructed a fluorescence detection system using a camera and light source to measure GFP (green fluorescent protein) in a cell-based assay. A portion of a Shiga toxin-containing food sample was incubated with cells designed to produce GFP. The toxin in the sample inhibited the synthesis of GFP—reducing GFP production in relation to the amount of toxin present. The greater the toxicity, the less fluorescent the cells were.

Filters used with the light source and camera blocked wavelengths (signals) that would interfere with precise measurements of fluorescence. “We obtained these signal levels by taking a picture with a camera and analyzing the image with a free, available computer software that determines average pixel intensity,” Rasooly says.

The camera method, which can easily be adapted for detecting other foodborne toxins,was compared to a commercial fluorometer for detecting active Shiga toxin, Rasooly adds. Both instruments had the same level of toxin detection.

134 sick with Salmonella: Whole hog recall

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Kapowsin Meats, a Graham, Wash. establishment, is recalling approximately 116,262 pounds of whole hogs that may be contaminated with Salmonella I 4, [5],12:i:-, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced.

The whole hogs for barbeque item were produced on various dates between April 18, 2015 and July 27, 2015. The following products are subject to recall:

Varying weights of Whole Hogs for Barbeque

The product subject to recall bears the establishment number “Est. 1628” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The product was shipped to various individuals, retail locations, institutions, and distributors in Alaska and Washington.

On July 15, 2015, the Washington State Department of Health notified FSIS of an investigation of Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- illnesses. Working in conjunction with the Washington State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), FSIS determined that there is a link between whole hogs for barbeque from Kapowsin Meats and these illnesses. Traceback investigation has identified 32 case-patients who consumed whole hogs for barbeque from this establishment prior to illness onset. These illnesses are part of a larger illness investigation. Based on epidemiological evidence, 134 case-patients have been identified in Washington with illness onset dates ranging from April 25, 2015 to July 29, 2015. FSIS continues to work with our public health partners on this ongoing investigation.

E. coli O157 gets a boost from downy mildew in lettuce

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is more likely to contaminate lettuce when downy mildew is already present, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Downy mildew, a lettuce disease caused by the fungus-like water mold Bremia lactucae, is one of the biggest problems that lettuce growers must deal with.

But microbiologist Maria Brandl, with the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit in Albany, California, has been investigating why so many E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks can be traced back to lettuce fields when E. coli O157:H7 sources are as diverse as undercooked beef, sprouts, raw dairy, shelled walnuts, fruits and vegetables. ARS is USDA’s chief in-house research agency.

Lettuce leaves are actually a harsh place for microbes to survive. But the epidemiological evidence is indisputable about how often lettuce is the source of E. coli O157:H7 contamination.

In earlier research, Brandl found that E. coli O157:H7 preferred cut, injured and younger leaves to undamaged and older ones. Then, she collaborated with ARS geneticist and lettuce breeder Ivan Simko from the Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit in Salinas, California.

They found that under warm temperature and on wet leaves, E. coli O157:H7 multiplied 1,000-fold more in downy mildew lesions than on healthy lettuce leaf tissue. Even on dry lettuce leaves, where most bacteria struggle to survive, E. coli O157:H7 persisted in greater numbers when downy mildew disease was present.

The researchers also found that E. coli O157:H7 did not grow as well in downy mildew lesions on the lettuce line RH08-0464, bred by Simko and a colleague to be less susceptible to the lettuce disease, as the bacteria did on Triple Threat, a commercial variety that is highly susceptible to downy mildew.

The exact factors that caused less growth of E. coli O157:H7 in the more resistant line still need to be carefully explored. But if a genetic hurdle to E. coli O157:H7 colonization could be bred into commercial lettuce varieties along with downy mildew resistance, it would add a new defensive line to contamination of lettuce, helping farmers to improve the microbial safety of their crop as well as control their number-one plant disease problem.

Food safety nerd alert: New members to US national advisory committee on microbiological criteria for foods

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the appointment of members to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) for the 2015-2017 term.

Established in 1988 by USDA (Food Safety and Inspection Service), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the Department of Commerce (National Marine Fisheries Service), and the U.S. Department of Defense, NACMCF provides scientific advice on public health issues related to the safety and wholesomeness of the U.S. food supply. The committee assists in the development of microbiological criteria. In addition, it reviews and evaluates epidemiological and risk assessment data and methodologies for assessing microbiological hazards.

“NACMCF members offer invaluable insights on food safety issues,” said Secretary Vilsack. “These individuals will be instrumental in protecting our nation’s food supply.”

Newly appointed NACMCF members are: Dr. Gary Acuff, Texas A&M University; Ms. Vanessa Coffman, Consumer Representative; Dr. Peter Feng, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Scott Hanna, U.S. Department of Defense; Dr. Carolyn Hovde, University of Idaho; Dr. Bala Kottapalli, ConAgra Foods Inc.; Dr. Margie Lee, University of Georgia; Dr. Tiffiani Onifade, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Dr. Laurie Post, Mars Global Chocolate; and Dr. John Ruby, JBS USA, LLC.

Returning members are: Dr. Arun Bhunia, Purdue University, Department of Food Science; Dr. David Gombas, United Fresh Produce Association; Dr. Larry Goodridge, McGill University; Dr. Scott Hood, General Mills, Inc.; Dr. Steven Ingham, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Dr. Jeffery Kornacki, Kornacki Microbiology Solutions, Inc.; Dr. Robert Labudde, Least Cost Formulations, Ltd.; Dr. Richard Linton, North Carolina State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Dr. Guy Loneragan, West Texas A&M University, Department of Agricultural Science; Dr. Evelyn Mbandi, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service; Dr. Peter Muriana, Oklahoma State University, Animal Science Department; Dr. Alison O’Brien, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; Dr. Wilfredo Ocasio, The National Food Laboratory; Dr. Salina Parveen, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Food Science and Technology; Dr. Ruth Petran, Ecolab, Inc.; Dr. Jennifer Quinlan, Drexel University, Department of Nutrition Sciences; Ms. Angela Ruple, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Seafood Inspection Laboratory; Dr. Stacey Schultz-Cherry, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Dr. Robert Seward, Seward Global Consulting; and Dr. Robert Tauxe, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases.

The Secretary of Agriculture appoints committee members following consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Appointees are scientists from academia, industry, other organizations, and Federal and State government. Committee members serve a two-year renewable term.

NACMCF serves the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Defense. NACMCF meets twice annually, while subcommittees meet more often as necessary.

For more information, go to http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/data-collection-and-reports/nacmcf/nacmcf

But will it be enforced? USDA issues best practices guidance for controlling Listeria in retail deli salads

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of its updated “Best Practices Guidance for Controlling Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in Retail Delicatessens” and responding to comments received on the guidance that FSIS posted on its Web site and announced in April 2014 in the Federal Register.

The best-practices guidance discusses steps that retailers can take to prevent certain ready-to-eat (RTE) foods that are prepared or sliced in retail delicatessens (delis) and consumed in the home, such as deli meats and deli salads, from becoming contaminated with Lm and thus a source of listeriosis. FSIS encourages retailers to review the guidance and evaluate the effectiveness of their retail practices and intervention strategies in reducing the risk of listeriosis to consumers from RTE meat and poultry deli products.

Lm is a bacterium that is found in moist environments, soil, and decaying vegetation and can persist along the food continuum. Transfer of the bacterium from the environment (e.g., deli cases, slicers, and utensils), employees, or contaminated food products is a particular hazard of concern in RTE foods, including meat and poultry products, because they generally receive no further processing for food safety before consumption. Listeriosis is a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with Lm.

On April 21, 2014, FSIS announced the availability of its “Best Practices Guidance for Controlling Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in Retail Delicatessens” and requested comment on the guidance (79 FR 22082). As explained in the 2014 Federal Register notice, FSIS used the key findings from the FSIS and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “Interagency Risk Assessment–Listeria monocytogenes in Retail Delicatessens” available on FSIS’s Web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/science/risk-assessments, the available scientific knowledge, the 2013 FDA Food Code, [1] and lessons learned from controlling Lm in FSIS-inspected meat and poultry processing establishments to develop the Best Practices Guidance for Controlling Lm in Retail Delis. The guidance provides practical recommendations that retailers can use to control Lm contamination and outgrowth in the deli. Retailers can use the best-practices guidance to help ensure that RTE meat and poultry products in the deli area are handled under sanitary conditions and are not adulterated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) (see 21 U.S.C. 623(d) and 464(e)). While these practices are specifically designed to control Lm, they also may help control other foodborne pathogens that may be introduced into the retail deli environment and other facilities where consumers take possession of food.

Final Guidance

The final guidance is posted at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/regulatory-compliance/compliance-guides-index.

FSIS updated the guidance to replace the previous version of the document which was issued and announced in the Federal Register (79 FR 22082, April 21, 2014). FSIS updated this guidance based on comments received during the public comment period which closed on June 20, 2014. FSIS made the following changes to the guidance in response to comments: Clarified that food processing equipment should be disassembled during cleaning and sanitizing, added a recommendation that retailers scrub surfaces during cleaning to prevent biofilm formation, and clarified that retailers should rotate (change) sanitizers to help prevent Lm from establishing niches in the environment and forming biofilms. The response to comments section below contains a more detailed summary of the comments and FSIS’s responses to those comments. Although comments will no longer be accepted through www.regulations.gov on this guidance document, FSIS will update this document as necessary should new information become available.

Response to Comments

FSIS received six comments on the “FSIS Best Practices Guidance for Controlling Lm in Retail Delicatessens” (FSIS Retail Lm Guideline). The comments were from a meat-processing company, a trade organization that represents retail stores, two companies that provide sanitation services, one company that produces antimicrobial agents, and one trade organization that represents meat-processing companies. The following is a summary of the comments that were received and FSIS’s responses to the comments.

Comment: Several commenters supported FSIS issuing the Retail Lm Guideline and recommended that FSIS issue other guidelines that retailers and food service operators can use. One commenter stated that the hazard of Lm does not change with production at a smaller facility and recommended that delis use the FSIS Compliance Guideline: “Controlling Lm in Post-lethality Exposed Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products” (FSIS Listeria Guideline). The FSIS Listeria Guideline is posted at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/d3373299-50e6-47d6-a577-e74a1e549fde/Controlling-Lm-RTE-Guideline.pdf?MOD=AJPERES.

Response: FSIS agrees that it is important to provide guidance for retailers and may issue additional guidelines as needed. While the FSIS Listeria Guideline for industry discussed in the preceding paragraph provides useful information about controlling Lm in federally inspected establishments, it does not provide information for deli operators. Because the requirements, processing conditions, and practices are different at retail than in processing facilities, issuing this separate guideline provides the specific information retailers can use to control Lm in the deli area.

Comment: Three commenters questioned whether the recommendation to rotate sanitizers to help prevent Lm from developing resistance to sanitizers and forming biofilms was necessary. One commenter stated that there is no scientific evidence that Lm develops resistance to sanitizers. The commenters recommended that retailers focus on removing the biofilm during the washing step and not the sanitizing step.

Response: Research has shown that Lm may become resistant to chlorine and other sanitizers, [2] and several industry guidelines recommend rotating sanitizers. 3 4 5 6 Therefore, in the guidance, FSIS continues to recommend this practice to help prevent Lm from establishing niches in the environment and forming biofilms. FSIS agrees with the commenters that biofilm formation is a concern in the deli environment and should be addressed during the cleaning step. To address this concern, FSIS has added a new recommendation to scrub surfaces during cleaning to prevent biofilm formation.

Comment: One commenter recommended that FSIS compliance investigators treat the best practices as guidance and not regulatory requirements when performing in-commerce surveillance at retail. The commenter requested that FSIS instruct its compliance investigators that the best practices are recommendations and not requirements. The commenter also recommended that compliance investigators provide the retail store management with FSIS guidance and other guidance documents that are available if they determine that store management is not aware of Listeria control actions.

Response: FSIS agrees that the guidance represents FSIS’s best practices recommendations and does not represent requirements that retailers must meet. FSIS issued instructions to its compliance investigators to make them aware that this guidance did not include requirements. FSIS is not aware of any instance in which compliance investigators have enforced FSIS guidance as though it were a regulatory requirement. FSIS is instructing its compliance investigators through training materials that they should inform retailers that the guidance is available on the FSIS Web site. Retailers are required by the FMIA and PPIA to maintain sanitary conditions and otherwise not produce adulterated or misbranded product. The guidance provides actions retailers can take to help ensure that they are meeting the requirements of the FMIA and PPIA. Retailers also should be aware that the recommendations in the guideline, especially those based on the 2013 FDA Food Code, may be requirements in State, local, or Tribal regulations.

Comment: One commenter stated that it is important to disassemble equipment when cleaning to find hard-to-reach areas where Lm can hide. The commenter stated that FSIS should amend the recommendation to clean and sanitize RTE food-processing equipment every four hours to include recommendations to disassemble the equipment during cleaning.

Response: FSIS agrees that it is important to disassemble equipment (e.g., slicers) when cleaning every four hours as recommended by the 2013 FDA Food Code and has clarified this information in the guidance.

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