North Carolina’s Response to the Peanut Butter Incident

1. North Carolina’s Response to the Peanut Butter Incident Joseph W. Reardon, Director Food & Drug Protection Division

2. 9/08/08 Earliest onset of illness, according to CDC 11/10/08 CDC monitors illnesses in 12 states 1/13/09 FDA finds 12 instances of PCA shipping contaminated product 1/16/09 PCA expands peanut butter recall 1/18/09 PCA expands recall to include all peanut paste 1/28/09 Recall expands to include all peanut products made in GA firm PCA in TX initiates recall of peanut products 2/12/09 2/20/09 PCA (TX and GA) informs customers to stop using all products 4/04/09 5/12/09 Last illness reported Last recall initiated Timeline MN identifies Salmonella in King Nut peanut butter 1st recall by PCA initiated 1/10/09

3. Impact of PCA Peanut Butter Recall • Public health • US: 9 deaths and 714 illnesses • NC: 1 death and 6 illnesses • Consumer confidence eroded • US: 2,833 food products recalled • NC: 3 food and 2 animal feed manufacturers directly impacted

4. Impact of PCA Peanut Butter Recall • Economic impact • US: Estimated $1 BILLION impact • US: 20% decline in peanut butter consumption in January • NC: 23% decline in peanuts planted • NC: Substantial number of employees laid-off

6. ICS Planning MFRPS Rapid Response Technology Laboratory

7. ICS • Integration of Federal, state, and local resources • Holistic management of an event • Common objectives • Situational awareness • Maximize resources

8. Planning • Food Emergency Response Plan • ICS and unified command • Technical Advisory Group • Triggers • Exercise, train, and revise • NC Food Safety and Defense Task Force • Foundation of public-private and interagency partnerships

9. Real-time data Situational awareness Accurate decisions Rapid response Mitigate incident Technology • Web-based tools • Recall effectiveness • Task tracker • After action reporting • Finance tracker

10. Laboratory • Investments in rapid testing capabilities coupled with ISO 17025 accreditation

11. Laboratory Surge capacity Partnering states Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio PFGE: NC Public Health Laboratory

12. Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards • Continuous improvement program • Training and auditing • Regulations • Risk-based inspections and resources • Emergency preparedness • Outreach • Laboratory resources • Parallels goals of the Food Safety Enhancement Act

13. Containment Prevention Incident Identification What is rapid response? We typically think linearly Disposal and Decontaminate Recovery and Mitigation

14. Rapid response is when events are happening concurrently or in parallel Rapid Response Incident Identification Containment Disposal and Decontaminate Recovery and Mitigation Prevention

15. Incident Identification • Traceback investigation • FDA • NCDA&CS • Major snack manufacturer receiver of PCA peanut paste • Four additional firms directly impacted

16. Containment • Within the affected major snack foods manufacturer • Halt production • Obtain environmental baseline • In-line and finished product testing • Witness disposal

17. Containment • Across the state • Recall effectiveness checks • Oversee activities at other affected firms • Traceback/forward investigations • Transparency • Industry • Public • Regulatory partners

18. Decontamination • Firm developed decontamination and restoration plan • Approved and confirmed by regulatory agencies • Physical verification of cleaning and sanitation • Auditing of procedures and records • Environmental and finished product sampling

19. RecoveryExtensive Finished Product Testing Samples collected on Day 2 and 3 of production

20. Finished Product Sampling Snack Manufacturer162 samples 5,184 subsamples15,552 packs of crackers

21. Recovery • Commissioner Steve Troxler orders in-depth inspections at all peanut butter manufacturers • Transparent public information campaign

22. Total Samples Collected During PCA Peanut Butter Incident

23. Entire Response573 environmental samples315 samples8,316 subsamples

24. North Carolina’s Response Required 6,209 man hours31,964 miles $248,588.20

25. Prevention • Workshop held • New science behind Salmonella • Review of regulations • Lessons learned • Enhanced routine inspections • Environmental sampling • Finished product sampling