Eye of the Storm

Eye of the Storm
by Lynn Petrak
Contributing Editor
Contributing Editor
Recall fever leaves dairy mostly unscathed, thanks to ongoing diligence in food safety.
Do you want the good news
first or the bad news? That query, posed by those who
have both types to share and answered in different ways depending on
one’s degree of optimism, can apply to today’s food safety
outlook. Depending on a particular vantage point, it could be a glass half
full of milk or a glass half empty.
For those who opt for the not-so-positive report up
front, food safety has once again bubbled to the surface as a major concern
among Americans. After years of relative quiet and assurances that this
country boasts the world’s safest food supply, the integrity of the
farm-to-fork food chain has come into the glare of the spotlight.
More than a year of regular headlines about major food
product recalls, plus concerns about foods and ingredients imported into
this country, have had a cumulative effect. Stories about tainted spinach,
onions, peanut butter, canned meat and even hummus are not only seeping
into the public consciousness but have resulted in a statistical drop in
consumer confidence.
According to the Washington-based Food Marketing
Institute (FMI), 66 percent of shoppers report that they are
“confident” that the food they buy at the grocery store is safe
— a figure that is down from 82 percent last year and at an 18-year
low. What’s more, 38 percent of consumers say that they have halted
buying certain items — including produce and meat — due to
foodborne illness outbreaks that generated negative publicity in the last
year.
The foodservice side isn’t as rosy, either. The
same FMI research shows that 42 percent of patrons indicate they feel safe
about meals consumed away from home.
Other figures could be improved as well. Although the
food supply in the United States is, in fact, among the safest in the
world, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that
tainted food still results in about 5,000 deaths and 76 million illnesses
annually. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), for its part,
estimates that five main foodborne pathogens rack up a nearly $7 billion
toll in health care and resource costs every year.
There are troubling developments, too, in the most
recent research on foodborne illness. According to 2006 information from
the CDC’s FoodNet surveillance system, sicknesses caused by the E. coli bacteria increased last
year, after several years of declines. Infections tied to the Vibrio bacteria, usually
associated with raw seafood, have jumped to the highest levels in the past
decade. More relevant to dairy, Salmonella cases are at the 6,655 annual mark, totaling about 39
percent of the total cases of foodborne infections.
With that out of the way, here comes the good news.
Although, as with other years, there have been some
kind of dairy product recalls over the past year, most of the high-profile
foodborne illness outbreaks and detections have been traced to foods other
than dairy.
Also on the plus side for those in the business of
producing and marketing dairy products is the strong halo that has
encircled dairy foods and beverages for decades. “One of the
advantages that we have in the dairy industry is that pasteurization gives
us a level of safety that is difficult for other foods to achieve —
pasteurization takes care of so many things and dairy products have an
excellent track record,” says Allen Sayler, senior director of
regulatory affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based International Dairy Foods
Association (IDFA).
In addition to the proven method of killing bacteria
after processing, this industry’s products have a reputation and
accompanying track record for safety due to other voluntary measures, on
both an individual company and industry-wide basis. “It isn’t
just pasteurization, though — it’s much more than that,”
Sayler says. “The dairy industry is under so many regulations, both
federal and state, and dairy companies go way beyond those regulations with
extensive good management practices (GMPs), allergen programs and other
things like that which result in product that have a high level of safety.
Ensuring Safety
With such strong voluntary measures in place, which
range from voluntary Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans
to the latest in sanitation technology to investments in rapid testing,
many dairy manufacturers take several preventative steps to make sure that
when the product leaves their facilities, at least, it is safe as possible.
“We try to do the best we can with pasteurization and storing
everything properly,” says Wendy Landry, quality control director for
Oakhurst Dairy, Portland, Maine, which was an early participant in a
voluntary HACCP certification program. “But you do always worry about
how people will treat your product once it gets to the store and
beyond.”
To her point, post-manufacturing handling is a major
control point and one that can make a difference between a safe product and
food safety incident. According to the USDA, 97 percent of all foodborne
illnesses can be prevented by following proper food handling practices in
the home.
Back in the processing and manufacturing part of the
farm-to-fork chain, dairy companies are taking myriad measures in their
efforts to button up their part in preventing contaminated products,
products that may accidentally contain allergens or products that may not
be produced under secure circumstances.
As Sayler points out, pasteurization takes out a
significant amount of risk with dairy products. Those dairy producers that
do not take the step of pasteurization, in fact, open themselves up to the
spread of microbes and resulting consumer illnesses.
A review of product recalls and safety-related
announcements from the USDA and FDA, for instance, shows that most milk
recalls are for unpasteurized or raw milk, for cheese made from raw milk or
for product that were discovered later to be inadvertently
underpasteurized or incorrectly pasteurized.
Even though there are relatively few raw-milk
providers in the United States, their products are a concern for dairy
industry leaders. “There has been a grassroots effort in a number of
states for more flexibility to allow the sale of raw milk,” says Cary
Frye, vice president of regulatory affairs for IDFA, noting that foodborne
illness were eradicated with pasteurization when it was introduced a
century or so ago. “It’s not a mainstream issue and it’s
not the dairy industry we represent, but nevertheless we have a position on
it and have provided information about our position to the sale of raw milk
based on the evidence,” IDFA recently
sent lawmakers in Nebraska who are currently considering a study to
determine if that state’s regulatory agency could permit the
production and sale of raw milk. IDFA’s senior vice president of
legislative and economic affairs Chip Kunde commented in the letter:
“Based on the preponderance of scientific evidence that clearly
indicates consumption of raw milk is potentially dangerous and that the
simple steps of pasteurization can all but eliminate this hazard, IDFA
urges the Nebraska legislators to reject LR 349. The dairy industry and the
state legislators and regulators need to work together to uphold consumer
confidence in the safety of milk by maintaining food safety regulations not
weakening them.”
When it comes, in fact, to adhering to food safety
regulations, mainstream dairy producers continue to implement a variety of
proven and new measures.
In a formal way, many processors have implemented
HACCP plans. Although not mandated, as it is in the juice and meat
processing industries, HACCP is a cornerstone of most dairy and dairy-based
companies in the U.S. Ultimately, HACCP programs are designed to address
food safety problems before they start, at key junctures in production,
processing, storage and distribution.
“As far as industry efforts internally, I think
the penetration of HACCP is very high. First of all, it’s the best
food safety program we have at this point, and second, customers are
demanding it and international companies often require it,” Sayler
says.
Indeed, most major U.S. food manufacturers have some
type of HACCP system in place, albeit to varying degrees. Kraft Foods,
Northfield, Ill, for example, applies the worldwide-recognized HACCP system
to its products, while Dreyer’s Ice Cream, Oakland, Calif., follows
HACCP plans in its plants. The Dannon Co., White Plains, N.Y., likewise,
keeps HACCP as a foundation for its efforts. “A thorough HACCP plan
has long been part of Dannon’s product protection and safety
protocol,” says Michael Neuwirth, senior director of public relations
for Dannon.
Some dairies have become HACCP-certified by the FDA,
as part of an early pilot program run by the National Conference on
Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS).
Oakhurst Dairy is one example and is now in its fourth
year of HACCP programs, Landry says. “Our customers had been asking
for it and we volunteered for the pilot program because [CEO] Stan
[Bennett] thought it would be great to be on the cutting edge,” she
says, adding that Oakhurst was one of only 16 dairy processors to sign on
in that first wave of the pilot certification program. Many of the measures
the company was already proactively taken were rolled into HACCP in a
formal way, Landry says.
Farmland Dairies, Wallington, N.J., opted for the
pilot HACCP certification through FDA as well. Four years into the official
program, HACCP is proving to be a work in progress, as was its intention,
says Emil Nashed, Farmland’s vice president of quality assurance and
R&D. “Our HACCP program is a fluid program. Our SOPs and SSOPs
are updated, our GMPs are affected when we have added processing and
filling equipment, for example. Even when you have people changing
positions, moving from one area to another, it is also upgraded,” he
explains. “Also, as we gain more experience, we
fine-tune.”
Meanwhile, to help those companies just starting a
HACCP program or to aid those looking to enhance their existing HACCP
systems, training programs offered by a variety of individuals and groups
are available. IDFA, for example, has sponsored HACCP seminars on a regular
basis for years. This spring, IDFA broke down its Advanced Dairy &
Juice HACCP workshop in various sections and made them accessible by phone
and on the Internet.
One of the next phases in HACCP, along with other
operating elements like the FDA’s regulation for GMPs, is the
increase in validation efforts. The Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research in
Madison, Wis., conducts HACCP short courses as well as outside evaluations
of such programs. “We have seen increased requests for third-party
audits. These audits include a review of GMPs, food defense and HACCP
principles,” says Marianne Smukowski, safety/quality applications
coordinator.
Farmland Dairies has independent evaluations of
its HACCP procedures, among other operations, Nashed says. “We do
third-party audits for the plant. Because we are a HACCP-certified plant,
it is very rigorously inspected, and some of our supermarkets and customers
that we supply also have their own audits where they come in,” he
says.
Emerging Issues
While formal plans are in place to check critical
control points, what and how dairy safety and quality professionals are
looking for potential food safety glitches is often a work in progress.
Right now, given the spate of recalls and concern over
imports from China and other parts of the world, the quality and safety of
ingredients are getting a closer look. “The newest thing on the line
is that we are getting third-party audit results from our suppliers in
China,” Landry says. “Now with all of these recalls, it is at
the forefront.”
At Dannon, Neuwirth says, the company has fielded
inquiries about imported ingredients. “We assure all consumers who
inquire about product safety about the strict quality standards we have for
all ingredients and packaging and the rigorous quality control procedures
we have in place, including our supplier reviews and approval process for
all ingredients and packaging,” he says.
Researchers and other industry leaders, too, have seen
an uptick in buzz about imports. “Another item to be concern with is
products manufactured outside the U.S. They do not have the same
regulations as we do here and certain food products have created problems
here,” Smukowski says. “So, an education to international
countries is needed to understand and meet U.S. regulations/specifications
for food products.”
Allergens are also garnering a lot of attention,
continuing a trend that began in the last two years, with the passage of
the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act. Dairy, after all,
is listed as a top allergen and other allergens, like tree nuts and eggs,
are common ingredients in dairy products.
Although there are no new regulations tied to
allergens and companies are now supposed to be in compliance with labeling
requirements, IDFA’s Frye says dairy operators understand they must
be diligent about controlling allergens. “The real challenge day in
and out is to be sure there is not cross-contamination, that sanitation is
properly done,” she says, adding that, among other efforts, IDFA has
helped encourage the development of a visual identification program to help
flag ingredients that fall under various allergen categories.
In response to concerns about allergens, dairy
operators have worked on allergen detection and prevention programs, in
addition to label declarations. “If we have any allergens in our
products we make sure to label them clearly and in the most easily
understandable terminology. Additionally, if we do introduce any new
products with allergens, we do make sure to notify the appropriate
organizations in advance of introducing the product,” Neuwirth says.
Farmland also has enhanced its testing protocols for allergens, says
Nashed, while Oakhurst Dairy established allergen testing even for seasonal
products, like eggnog.
To that point, rapid testing — whether to gauge
the presence of antibiotic residue, harmful microbes or allergens, in
surfaces or in finished products — continues to be a focus of food
safety and quality control programs in dairy plants nationwide and in
overseas facilities owned by U.S. companies.
Nashed, for instance, reports that Farmland Dairies
has invested in more rapid-testing tools and services. “Last year we
introduced a new pre-operation testing of equipment, to give us results to
see if equipment is ready or not,” he says of adenosine triphosphate
(ATP) bioluminescence testing. ATP tests identify contaminants via the
detection of light emitted from living organisms.
In addition to programs and technologies in place to
protect food from spoilage or contamination, dairies continue to tighten up
their operations and plants to guard against intentional contamination.
“Right after 9/11, the dairy industry was one of the leads in the
food industry, looking internally at its processing operation sand shoring
up any weaknesses that may be identified,” Sayler says.
“We’re now five or six years away from that and I think
security has been ramped up in so many areas, from perimeter fencing to
having security agencies on top of it to have internal controls on the use
of some of their ingredients and chemicals. We’re never saying we
can’t do better, but I’d say that the dairy processing industry
is highly secure.”
As an example of ongoing improvements to security, the
FDA recently released a new tool to help producers, processors,
transporters and retailers determine the vulnerability of their food chain
to potential biological, chemical or radiological sabotage. The
new program, called CARVER + Shock Software Tool, was introduced over
the summer.
Lynn Petrak is a freelance journalist based in the
Chicago area.
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