Food safety hot topics

1. Food safety hot topics Dr. Ben Chapman Dept of 4-H Youth Dev and FCS North Carolina State University benjamin_chapman@ncsu.edu www.chapmanfoodsafety.wordpress.com

3. Why did my grandmother overcook pork?

4. Foodborne illness in the US -in- 48 million cases of foodborne illness 127,839 hospitalizations 3,037 deaths

5. WHO factors contributing to foodborne illness • Improper cooking procedures • Temperature abuse during storage • Lack of hygiene and sanitation by food handlers • Cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods • Foods from unsafe sources • All human factors, behavior based • WHO, 2002

6. Impacts Travis Cudney Blind since age 2 Complications from a pathogenic E. coli infection Mason Jones Died at age 5 E. coli O157 Acquired through school lunch program 157 illnesses, 31 hospitalizations

7. Why is this important for you? High risk population Somewhat complex food production system High potential on public health if something goes wrong

8. Food safety risks in schools • Process and handling • School HACCP program • Personnel • School HACCP program • Suppliers • Procurement • Other outside stuff • Sometimes a bit of a question

9. 1 Chicken 2 Meats 3 Ground meats 4 Fin fish 5 Shellfish 1 Produce 2 Poultry 3 Beef 4 Eggs 5 Seafood What makes us ill?

10. Listeria outbreak (cantaloupe) • 25 deaths • 123 illnesses • Linked to packing facility • Sanitation • Facility design • Post-harvest handling

11. E. coli O104 outbreak in Europe May 1 to July 21, 2011 • 4,125 cases • 50 fatalities As reported by the World Health Organization on July 21, 2011 Outbreak officially over July 26, 2011 UNCLASSIFIED 11

12. E. coli O157 outbreak/strawberries (OR) 1 dead 14 sick Deer droppings caused outbreak Six samples from Jaquith Strawberry Farm tested positive for the E. coli O157:H7 strain

13. Here’s a scenario 150 students ill with gastro symptoms School closed Source is… What do you say?

15. Risk communication Scientific Assessment of Risk Public Perception of Risk Information Vacuum • Need to be able to address • What you are doing • Why you have risk reduction practices • Update often • In absence, it gets filled by… whomever Powell, 1997

16. Potential social media tools Facebook Twitter Blogs YouTube Flickr Wikipedia

17. Wright County Egg/Salmonella 2010 Big break during investigation = health department follows up on angry consumers complaining of illnesses on Yelp

18. Wikipedia 1:00pm September 19, 2006

19. Crisis communication: Message development • Be clear • Relate the message to the audience’s perspectives • State what has happened and what is being done • Clearly state the existence of uncertainty • Ensure completeness and focus on the issue • Place the risk in the appropriate context • Be honest about the limits of scientific knowledge

22. Food safety culture • It is a set of shared attitudes, values and beliefs around food safety • Production/sources • Handling/storage • Preparation • You can have a good food safety culture or a bad one

24. Food safety culture • Maintaining a food safety culture means: • Everyone know the risks associated with the job they do • Know why managing the risks is important • Can effectively manage those risks • Demonstrable • Are ready to deal with problems • Are looking for future risks

25. Food safety culture players Principal Faculty Janitorial staff Administrative support staff Parent volunteers

26. Know the risks • What foods do you serve have been historically linked to foodborne illness outbreaks? • Know what factors led to the illnesses • Production? Temperature control? Hygiene? • Tomato and pepper containing dishes in 2008 S. Saintpaul outbreak • Barton Behravesh et. al 2011, NEJM

27. Surprising messages • Shannon, 1948 • Generate dialogue • Ajzen, 1991; Bohm et al., 1993; Dignum et al., 2001; Schein, 1993 • Put food safety into context • Leventhal et al., 1965; Lordly, 2007 • Tell stories • www.foodsafetyinfosheets.com

29. Results: Mean events per food handler *Significance level (p <.05, 95% CI)

34. Temperature • Use temperature loggers to track temperature of leafy greens over time • Placed at each step of leafy green pathway • Receipt of product, storage, preparation, holding • Is product exposed to abusive temperatures? If so, at what point and for how long?

35. Food Handling and Sanitation Survey • Asks about handling practices and opinions about risks involved in handling leafy greens • Combined with temperature data • show attitudes about leafy green handling and areas where improvements could be made to improve safety • All to build better training/mitigation steps

36. Where NC CE comes in • In the past – involved with training managers on HACCP implementation • SMI team has that under control now • Need help with training food handlers (cafeteria staff) • Required to have a 4-hour training every 3 years

37. Food safety risks in schools • Process and handling • School HACCP program • Personnel • School HACCP program • Suppliers • Procurement • Other outside stuff • Sometimes a bit of a question

39. Dr. Ben Chapman benjamin_chapman@ncsu.edu Follow me on twitter @benjaminchapman 919 809 3205 www.foodsafetyinfosheets.com www.chapmanfoodsafety.wordpress.com www.barfblog.com