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Peanuts and Tree Nuts and Human Salmonellosis

Peanuts and Tree Nuts and Human Salmonellosis. Peanut Tree Nut Processors Association Annual Meeting, Naples, FL January 19, 2014. Presentation O utline:. What is Salmonella and why should I be concerned about it? Why is FDA doing a risk assessment and what does this mean?

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Peanuts and Tree Nuts and Human Salmonellosis

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  1. Peanuts and Tree Nuts and Human Salmonellosis Peanut Tree Nut Processors Association Annual Meeting, Naples, FL January 19, 2014

  2. Presentation Outline: • What is Salmonella and why should I be concerned about it? • Why is FDA doing a risk assessment and what does this mean? • What does FDA need to know from nut processors? • What should I be doing about Salmonella?

  3. Salmonella Basics • Common bacterium found in soil, water, birds, reptiles and mammals • An organism living in the environment from which it infects/colonizes animals and plants • A major cause of occasionally fatal foodborne illness • Becoming more resistant to drugs • A highly evolved organism that persists in the environment for decades

  4. IsSalmonella a Major Problem? • Despite significant efforts by FDA, CDC, and FSIS and the food industry, Salmonella continues to more than hold its own. • The success of Salmonella as a pathogen could be due to: • Its global distribution in the environment • The many routes of contamination of raw foods • Sources of human infection outside the food supply • Inadequate controls for processed food • From CDC, Incidence of Human Infection, 2010 http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsFoodborneIllness/

  5. Salmonella Ecology

  6. Salmonella in Peanuts and Tree Nuts • Commonly found in raw peanuts and all species of tree nuts • Found in 2.3% of raw shelled peanuts when testing 375 grams of nuts1 • Similar prevalence found in raw almonds, pistachios, and pecan 1 Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 76, No. 4, 2013, Pages 575–579

  7. Courtesy New Hampshire Public Health Lab The Impact of New Technology • Identifying specific strains of Salmonella • Serotyping • PFGE typing • Genome sequencing

  8. The Federal Register notice: Request for data & comments • Federal Register Notice • Request for: • Comments • Scientific data • Information • Published: 07/18/2013 • Comment period: • 90-days • Extended 60 days to 12/16/13 Available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/07/18/2013-17211/assessment-of-the-risk-of-human-salmonellosis-associated-with-the-consumption-of-tree-nuts-request

  9. Why is FDA Doing a Risk Assessment? • Model outputs: • Number of cases / serving; number of cases / year • Impact of interventions through “what-if scenarios” • Model will build upon peer-reviewed risk assessment models: • e.g. Lambertini et al., 2012 (developed for U.S. almonds) • Model will evaluate product pathway: harvest to consumption • Expected extensions beyond currently published models: • Adaptation to consider other tree nuts in addition to almonds • Quantification of uncertainty • Sensitivity analysis

  10. Data gaps: Data needs for the risk assessment

  11. The Good and the Bad The Bad: • Salmonella sickens and kills people • An ever greater number of cases are now being linked to the source • Processors involved in an outbreak are often bankrupted or suffer major business reversals • It is possible to entirely prevent Salmonella contamination in processed foods like roasted nuts and nut butters The Good:

  12. Salmonella Control in Nut Processing • Leadership engagement, understanding and commitment is most important • Implementation of process controls, cGMPs, preventive controls, HACCP, and environmental and finished product testing • Ensuring that the facility is designed and maintained to prevent contamination of the environment • Promote control of Salmonella with others in the industry • Refer to the GMA guidance on Salmonella control: • http://www.gmaonline.org/downloads/technical-guidance-and-tools/SalmonellaControlGuidance.pdf

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