Proposed rules about pathogens, mechanically tenderized beef products and donning and doffing

On March 19, 2014, GFSF participated in USDA Economists Group’s seminar about cost-benefit analyses for food safety-related regulations in Washington, DC. The seminar was divided into 3 sections: pathogen; mechanically tenderized beef products; and donning and doffing.  

James Wilkus, an economist with the Office of Policy and Program Development, FSIS / USDA, led the discussion about the role of economics in pathogen control regulations. FSIS’s 2014 quarterly objectives are E. coli, listeria, and, especially salmonella as there were 21,540; 897; and 413,965 illnesses, respectively, from 2007 to 2009 according to FoodNet. FSIS’ Public Health Driven Program has designed salmonella verification sampling program for raw product.

Considering impacts, producers would be categorized into 3 establishments: large, small, very small, as with FSMA. The proposed rule would impact them on new hires, training, and equipment modifications and purchase. They would add inspection stations, dressing performance standards. Talking about the economic impact, he showed an influence diagram of a new inspection system for catfish.

From USDA FSIS office of Policy and Program Development

Click the picture to enlarge

The proposed rule would require resources, as the new inspection system requires applications for inspection, labeling, marketing of containers, sanitation standard operating procedures, testing, record keeping, government office space and equipment.

Chinese exporters to the US, especially catfish exporters, need to pay attention to the rule as China is one of the biggest exporters of catfish to the US, and the new regulation would influence the entire exporting process, from beginning to end.

Hazel Robinson, an economist with FSIS presented a proposed rule for mechanically tenderized beef products. The rule requires official establishments to label beef that was mechanically tenderized as such and to provide labels that contain cooking instructions, which if followed, would destroy any pathogens that may have been trans-located from the surface to the interior.

Tenderization involved repeated penetration of the muscle surface with blades or knives to disrupt muscle fibers and render the muscle tenderer. The problem is that, the effect of the physical tenderization process is not visible to the naked eye.

She said, “Without these labels, consumers and retailers would not know that the beef was tenderized, and without instructions may not cook meat so that pathogens are destroyed,” since it would move pathogens on the surface of sub-primal cuts to beneath the surfaces.

The proposed rule would affect many industries, as well as household consumers, retail consumers, and restaurants. There were 555 official establishments that produced blade, needle, and both blade and needle mechanically tenderized beef products in 2011, and a total of 176 patients who became ill due to a mechanically tenderized product from 2000 to 2009. The proportion of beef products that are mechanically tenderized is about 10 percent of total the US production of beef.

The benefits of the proposed rule are the truthful and accurate labeling of beef products, increased public awareness of product identities, and better market information to consumers which could promote better competition among establishments. In addition, adding cooking instructions will make consumers aware how to cook a mechanically tenderized beef product properly. Quantified expected benefits would be the reduction of illness.

Non-quantified expected costs would include a minimal cost to validate cooking instructions and costs associated with food service providers that change their standard operating procedures related to intact and mechanically tenderized beef products.

The proposed rule requires resources for labeling. The estimated amount is about $1,162,000 if the rule is finalized. However, the proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on small or very small entities as labeling cost is a one-time cost and they generally have a smaller number of unique products, requiring smaller number of labels to be modified.

The last presenter Flora Tsui, senior economist at FSIS, discussed the analysis of donning and doffing measurement. The Donning and Doffing Measurement regulation was finalized in November 2012. The goal is to include donning, doffing, knife-sharpening, and walking time as working time for slaughter industry. It would have little influence on food industry in China.

GFSF has been striving to create food safety e-courses, especially for the Chinese regulators, technicians and managers of good companies. We are planning to provide a preview of some e-courses at the Global Food Safety Forum summit in Beijing, which will be held on 14-15 June.  

Keeping the Mystery Out of China's Meat

Photograph by Leela Punyaratabandhu

When the yellow liquid in a test tube containing tiny pieces of string beans turns clear, Chloe Fan knows why. A nearby computer screen quickly confirms her suspicion: Pesticide levels in the sample are twice as high as accepted standards. Fan, a Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) food scientist in Guangzhou, runs another test, then has the shipment of beans pulled, stopping a batch of chemical-laced vegetables from reaching customers at the retailer’s stores in China. Hers is a job that can’t be taken for granted. “China has food safety rules,” says Fan, 24, clad in a white laboratory coat and surrounded by beakers and test tubes, “but not all suppliers in China understand and follow them.”

Wal-Mart has learned that lesson repeatedly on the mainland, most recently when authorities earlier this year said meat sold as donkey at its Chinese stores contained fox DNA, triggering a recall by the Bentonville (Ark.)-based retailer. That wasn’t an isolated occurrence. A seemingly endless string of scandals—from melamine-tainted milk that killed six infants and sickened 300,000 others in 2008 to rat meat recently sold as mutton—has made China the Wild West of food safety. Inadequate government oversight also is forcing big Western companies, from Wal-Mart toNestlé (NESN:VX) to French supermarket operator Carrefour (CA:FP), to put on their sheriff’s hats and take food policing into their own hands.

The reason is simple: Western companies that sell tainted products can suffer damage to their reputations and incur legal liabilities, even if they had nothing to do with the manufacturing of the goods. “Many giant retailers have a strong incentive to take actions where state and local governments are not doing what they are supposed to do,” says Ching-Fu Lin, a researcher at the Asian Center for WTO and International Health Law and Policy.

Wal-Mart promised to boost inspections of suppliers after the donkey meat recall and now conducts more DNA tests of meat in China than it does anywhere else in the world. The company already had said last May that it would spend 100 million yuan ($16 million) over three years to increase food safety in China after being stung by previous scandals there, including the sale of sesame oil and squid with hazardous levels of chemicals in 2012 and the mislabeling of regular pork as organic the year before. Wal-Mart says that since 2012 it has slashed its number of pork suppliers in China by almost 80 percent, to about 100, to ensure better food quality and more supplier accountability.

The world’s largest retailer has two vans making unannounced visits to stores every day to take samples of vegetables, seafood, and meat to check for melamine in dairy products, clenbuterol in pork, and excessive antibiotics in chicken. It does this only in China.

Nestlé says it employs more inspectors and scientists to perform quality tests on the milk at its Chinese dairy factories than in any other country. And, unlike in other nations, the company employs full-time staff to visit dairy farms, teaching ways to improve herds through animal vaccinations and special feeds. It will also open a dairy university in China this year to educate milk farmers—its first worldwide.

Carrefour has also set up 50 laboratories in China to test for pesticide residues and excessive food additives, and its shoppers can scan QR codes, which can be read by smartphones, to trace the production origins and expiration dates of products and the growers of fruits and vegetables. China is the only country where it goes to such lengths to reassure customers.

The world’s largest milk producer, Fonterra Co-operative Group, has gone even further. Each year since 2007, it has transported via cargo ship as many as 7,000 cows from its New Zealand home to its large-scale dairy farms on the mainland. Operating its own farms is a first for the Auckland-based dairy co-op, which typically sources from local farmers. But it says it needs tighter control to guarantee safer milk sources in China.

Not being vigilant can be costly. Sales at Yum! Brands’ (YUM) KFC restaurants took a beating in 2013 after a widely publicized investigation in China of a former supplier that fed its birds large amounts of antibiotics and hormones to boost their weight. Despite a public apology by Yum in January 2013, sales at its KFC outlets in China fell 20 percent in the first quarter of 2013, and they continue to be hurt by public opinion.

GIC Names New Director of GFSF and Financial Services/China

Alexandria, Virginia, March 27, 2014

For Immediate Release

Contact: Eric Wu: ericwu@gicgroup.com

                               646-258-2372

GIC Names New Director of Global Food Safety Forum and Financial Services/China

GIC Group (GIC) is pleased to announce that Dr. Eric Wu (吴晓东) has been selected as Director of GFSF and Financial Services/China.

Dr. Wu is from Tianjin City, China. He graduated from China Agricultural University, and later on got his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University and M.B.A. from New York University Stern School of Business with a concentration in Finance.

Dr. Wu also has more than 10 years of working experience in the fields of agriculture, healthcare and financial services. Dr. Wu has served as Managing Partner of Jade Advisors LLC, a U.S.–China cross border business consulting firm based in New York City. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of KB Global Fund, a China based private equity fund with investments in growth stage and pre-IPO Chinese companies. Dr. Wu also worked at Tianjin Bureau of Animal Husbandry before coming to the U.S. Dr. Wu officially joined GIC Group full time on March 24^th, 2014. 

Dr. Wu commented, “GFSF has been growing fast in China and is playing an increasing role in all aspects of food safety issues. I am very excited about the opportunities and challenges in food safety around the world, especially in China. I hope to contribute to widen the scope of our activities. I will also be working on GIC’s financial services where we see major growth opportunities.”

Dr. Richard Gilmore, the President/CEO of GIC commented, “Eric adds an important dimension to GFSF. He brings a diversified academic and business experience coupled with a passion for food safety work.  He will play an important lead role in GFSF’s expanded activities and membership as we move deeper into food safety technologies, software systems and new financial products.”

###

Are We Becoming China's Factory Farm?

Illustration: Michael Klein

China is in the midst of a love affair with pork. Its consumption of the stuff has nearly doubled since 1993 and just keeps rising. The Chinese currently eat 88 pounds per capita each year—far more than Americans' relatively measly 60 pounds. To meet the growing demand, China's hog farms have grown and multiplied, and more than half of the globe's pigs are now raised there. But even so, its production can't keep up with the pork craze.

So where is China looking to supply its demand for chops, ribs, loins, butts, and bellies? Not Southeast Asia or Africa—more like Iowa and North Carolina. US pork exports to China surged from about 57,000 metric tons in 2003 to more than 430,000 metric tons in 2012, about a fifth of all such exports. And that was before a Chinese company announced its intention to buy US pork giant Smithfield Foods in 2013. The way things are going, the United States is poised to become China's very own factory hog farm. Here are a few reasons why:

It's now cheaper to produce pork in the US than in China. You read that right: Our meat industry churns out hogs for about $0.57 per pound, according to the US Department of Agriculture, versus $0.68 per pound in China's new, factory-scale hog farms. The main difference is feed costs. US pig producers spend about 25 percent less on feed than their Chinese counterparts, the USDA found, because the "United States has more abundant land, water, and grain resources."

Americans are not as fond of "the other white meat" as we once were. You wouldn't know it from the menus in trendy restaurants, but US consumers' appetite for pork hit a peak in 1999 and has declined ever since. Yet industry, beholden to shareholders demanding growth, keeps churning out more. According to its latest projections, the USDA expects US pork exports to rise by another 0.9 metric tons by 2022—a 33 percent jump from 2012 levels.

Much of China's arable land is polluted. Fully 40 percent has been degraded by erosion, salinization, or acidification—and nearly 20 percent is tainted by industrial effluent, sewage, excessive farm chemicals, or mining runoff. The pollution makes soil less productive, and dangerous elements like cadmium have turned up in rice crops.

Chinese rivers have been vanishing since the 1990s as demand from farms and factories has helped suck them dry. Of the ones that remain, 75 percent are severely polluted, and more than a third of those are so toxic they can't be used to irrigate farms, according to a 2008 report by the Chinese government. According to the World Bank, China's average annual water resources are less than 2,200 cubic meters per capita. The United States, by contrast, boasts almost 9,400 cubic meters of water per person.

Chinese consumers are losing trust in the nation's food supply—and will pay for alternatives. A spate of food-related scandals over the past half decade has made food safety the Chinese public's No. 1 concern, a 2013 study from Shanghai Jiao Tong University found. Judith Shapiro, author of the 2012 book China's Environmental Challenges and director of the Natural Resources and Sustainable Development program at American University, says she expects Smithfield pork to command "quite a premium" in China, because it's perceived as safer and better than the domestic stuff. Already, "US pork is particularly popular and commands premium prices, as it is viewed as higher quality due to our strict food safety laws," a Bloomberg Businessweek columnist reported last July.

But what's good for pork exporters may not be good for the United States: More mass-produced pork also means more pollution to air and water from toxic manure, more dangerous and low-wage work, and more antibiotic-resistant pathogens. And that's just the beginning. In addition to ramping up foreign meat purchases, China is also rapidly transforming its domestic meat industry along the US industrial model—and importing enormous amounts of feed to do so. The Chinese and their hogs, chickens, and cows gobble up a jaw-dropping 60 percent of the global trade in soybeans, and the government may soon also ramp up corn imports—because while Beijing currently limits foreign corn purchases, meat producers are clamoring for more. And where does a third of the globe's corn come from? You guessed it: The good old USA.

Deadly pig virus numbers rise in U.S. hog herd

(Reuters) - Confirmed cases of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus increased by 296 in the week ended March 15, bringing the total number to 4,757, according to data released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).

The U.S. and Canadian hog industries have recently developed partnerships to research what role, if any, feed or feed ingredients have had in the transmission of PEDv, the National Pork Board said earlier this week. The report from USDA's NAHLN does not include test results from feed samples.

No new states reported cases leaving the affected states at 27, the group of animal researchers said.

While one case can represent an individual animal or an entire herd at a single site, hog industry analysts estimate PEDv has killed an estimated 5 million U.S. hogs since it was discovered in May 2013.

"Unfortunately it has spread rapidly this winter, especially here in Ohio," said Duane Stateler, Ohio Pork Council president and hog producer with a 7,200 head operation.

PEDv, which does not affect humans and is not a food safety risk, causes diarrhea, vomiting and severe dehydration in pigs. While older pigs have a chance of survival, 80 to 100 percent of piglets that contract it die.

"The smaller the pig the harder it is for them to recover and come back," Stateler said.

The U.S. hog industry has grappled with tactics to contain the spread of the highly contagious pig virus using strict biosecurity measures as its main line of defense.

The spread of the virus has already crimped market ready hog supply not only in the U.S. Midwest but also along the East Coast, forcing some pork packing plants to reduce slaughter operations.

There is talk in the hog industry of some Midwest pork packing facilities considering several operations of either cutting one day a week, trimming daily operating hours, or eliminating Saturdays and overtime in order to reduce total operating hours, hog dealers have said.

Last week, Smithfield Foods Inc. suspended hog slaughter on Friday at its Tar Heel, North Carolina, plant which has a slaughter capacity of 30,000 to 34,000 head as PEDv has tightened hog supplies, industry sources said.

Chinese Pay Double for Organic Kale After Food Scandals

Shanghai housewife Yang Huaixin began buying organic food from farms on the outskirts of the metropolis not long after a relative had a brush with cancer.

“It’s an investment in one’s health,” said Yang, 36, who uses organically farmed vegetables and meat in soups and steamed buns for her husband and 8-year-old son. “I can’t change my overall environment, but I can control what’s around me.”

Demand for organic food is surging in China as food-safetyscandals and rising nutritional awareness drive health-conscious consumers to search out safer options. Like their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe, Chinese increasingly are prepared to pay a premium for organic food. Looking to meet the demand, farmers are ditching pesticides, while markets and stores devoted to naturally raised food are opening in cities across the country. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and other global grocers are selling more organic merchandise.

“This is the first market I’ve worked in where food safety is a more important consideration than price,” Rob Chester, chief compliance officer at Wal-Mart in China, said in an interview.

Food and drug safety was voted as the third-biggest concern for ordinary Chinese this year, up from seventh place in 2013, according to an annual online poll of 3.26 million people by the state-run People’s Daily last month.

Photographer: Nelson Ching/Bloomberg

Produce is collected in baskets at a farm that practices organic farming techniques in Beijing.

A series of scandals from melamine-laced baby formula and rat meat sold as mutton have stoked food-safety fears in China. Thousands of dead pigs found in a Shanghai river, the city’s water source, raised concerns about water contamination.

China’s State Council announced a plan last month to enhance food quality and prioritize development of organic and pollutant-free agriculture over the next six years.

Sales Jump

Though the definition for organic varies by country, it typically means foods produced with no pesticides or fertilizers, or with only natural ones such as manure instead of synthetic fertilizers. The number of certifications issued to organic products more than doubled in four years to the end of 2013, according to data from a government department.

Sales of those items reached 80 billion yuan ($13 billion) at the end of 2012, the most recent year for such figures. Sales of packaged organic foods such as honey and cereals jumped 46 percent in China last year to 5.94 billion yuan, after rising 40 percent in 2012, according to Euromonitor International.

Photographer: Raul Vasquez/Bloomberg

Shoppers browse through the organic produce section at a Carrefour store in Beijing.

The Beijing LohaoCity food chain, whose name stands for “lifestyle of health and organic,” has 27 outlets in the city selling organic produce and boosted sales 40 percent last year to a record, said Nancy Song, a spokeswoman for the chain.

Xinjiang Red Dates

Organic farming is turning into a booming business for farmer Chen Xinrong. Though he charges about twice the price of other regular farms, his business has tripled in four years. Each week, he sends off hundreds of boxes of squash and kale depending on the season, mostly to people living in nearby Shanghai.

“People are starting to invest in health,” said the 59-year-old, as he plucked snails from rows of vegetables grown in the city’s suburban district of Chongming Island and crushed them with his boot.

The demand for more natural foods has led to regular organic farmers’ markets outside Beijing. Stores selling products from Yunnan organic rice to Xinjiang organic red dates are sprouting in cities across the country. Some farmers are offering to rent urban residents plots of land to grow their own vegetables.

Safety Debate

Consumers in most countries generally believe that organic food is safer, though there is still debate over whether it truly is, said Peter Ben Embarek, a food safety scientist at the World Health Organization in Geneva and a former food safety officer with the WHO in Shanghai. Traditional farming can leave pesticides or chemical fertilizers on foods that people ingest. Organic farming can fail to exclude harmful pollutants in food if dirty water is used, he said.

International retailers such as Wal-Mart are tapping Chinese consumers’ needs for safer food by offering imported food products. Arla Foods amba, the Danish partner of China Mengniu Dairy (2319) Co., sells organic milk in China and expects its imports to the country to rise by 60 percent this year, said Frede Juulsen, senior vice president.

Fraud Cases

While China’s organic standards are good, convincing control mechanisms for implementation and supervision also need to be in place, said the WHO’s Ben Embarek.

The country has its own certification standards, which include not using pesticides, chemical fertilizer or growth stimulants in the growing and manufacturing process. A government agency interviews farmers and tests the products before validating the goods.

“Trusting organic foods means trusting that the requirements for organic production have been met,” he said.

In 2012, fraud cases including fake organic eggs in Beijing and an organic vegetable producer using pesticides in Shandong province led China to tighten the certification standards.

Some organic producers in China have taken the extra step of getting certified by overseas agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Certification labels or paperwork are displayed on the products and on online shopping sites.

Beijing retailer Lohao also uses a third-party inspector to examine suppliers’ farms, factories and products. It also makes them sign a contract agreeing to pay a 500,000-yuan fine if quality problems arise.

Yang, the Shanghai housewife, was so convinced about the importance of au-naturel that she started an online group buying club. Members buy organic products in bulk to lower the high costs.

“To the older generation, food was only about filling your tummy,” she said. “Younger buyers like us know better.

Chinese market needs careful handling

When Prime Minister John Key stepped into the Air Force 757 in Beijing in April to fly home from his last state visit, he had little idea he would be back less than a year later.

Just a day earlier, senior government officials and business figures snapped photos on their mobile phones on the steps of the Great Hall of the People, as Key was welcomed as a "real friend" by Premier Li Keqiang.

A 19-gun salute rang out over Tiananmen Square, which had been closed to the public.

It was a grand celebration of the exponential growth in trade since Labour signed a free trade agreement with China in 2008, but just four months later it all seemed to be at risk.

The botulism scare from a contamination at a Fonterra plant in Waikato sparked fear across the world, especially among mothers in one-child China, who trusted New Zealand's infant formula much more than local products.

Although the scare turned out to be a false alarm, Key will return to Beijing next week for a highly unusual visit. At its core, the trip is simply an effort to reassure China, now our largest export market, that all is well with New Zealand food safety. All this, just six months from the election, suggests a growing vulnerability to the superpower, which has experienced much more serious food safety issues than New Zealand has.

Key dismisses any suggestion that the trip represents diplomatic humiliation - when New Zealand has nothing to explain - or an over-reliance on China. "They didn't ask us to go, and we're not going to apologise anyway," he said.

"If anything, it's an opportunity to turn a negative situation into a positive for New Zealand."

Key made a commitment to go back to China when it was not known if the scare was real or not.

Chinese social media had pointed to this promise as the situation calmed down last year, he said, and now that a ministerial inquiry had given the food safety regime the all-clear (the findings specifically on Fonterra's role in the scare are not yet public), New Zealand can give further reassurances.

Now, Key will be armed with news that Fonterra, which declined to comment for this article, faces heavy fines, a sign that even the world's largest dairy company company is not above the law.

The charges, announced on Thursday, were quickly dismissed as a stunt by Labour, designed to paper over flaws exposed in New Zealand's underfunded food safety regime.

Key, though, even denies there was ever a problem in relations with China, despite being reminded of a sharply critical editorial in state-run news agency Xinhua.

Three months before the botulism scare, New Zealand meat was blocked from entering China and it took days for the Ministry for Primary Industries to work out why. Eventually it turned out to be miscommunication over labelling, blamed squarely on MPI. "There's a high trust factor between the two countries," Key said this week.The article, written in Wellington, criticised New Zealand's approach to trade and even mocked his comparison of Tourism New Zealand's 100 Per Cent Pure slogan to a McDonald's slogan.

If Key refuses to accept there was ever an issue, China's new ambassador, Wang Lutong, does not, acknowledging there was a "problem", albeit one which has been resolved through extensive reassurances and contact between governments.

Whatever the problem was, it is hard to detect its impact, outside diplomatic signals. Wang points to the massive growth in trade.

"Nothing has been affected," he said. "The figure for bilateral trade said everything about it."

In export terms, the botulism scare was hardly a speed wobble.

Every month since October has been a record month for exports to China, which were worth $10 billion in 2013. That surpassed the Australia figure for the first time, while in January alone, exports valued at $1.2b to China were double those to Australia.

But as China opens to the West, will it look beyond New Zealand? Academics warn that as China increasingly engages with the world economy, it is looking for other trading partners who will eventually compete directly in our markets.

Dr Marc Lanteigne, senior lecturer at Victoria University, said that although New Zealand was seen as a valued partner of China because of its first-mover advantage, China signed free trade agreements with Iceland and Switzerland last year.

Eventually it could reach a deal with Australia, this year or next. "If that were to take place it would downgrade New Zealand's lofty status as the only country in the area that has direct access. The New Zealand Government does have to prepare itself for this eventuality."

Dole Brand Salad Recalled in Canada Due to Potential Listeria Contamination

BY NEWS DESK | MARCH 13, 2014

Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. is recalling Dole brand Italian Blend salad from the marketplace due to possible Listeria contamination.

The following product is known to have been distributed in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick and may have been also been distributed in other provinces:

Brand Name: Dole

Common Name: Italian Blend Salad

Size: 10 oz. (283 g)

Code(s) on Product: Best Before: 14-MR-12

Universal Product Code: 0 71430 00819 5

Consumers should check to see if they have recalled product in their home. Recalled product should be thrown out or returned to the store where it was purchased. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

This recall was triggered by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) test results. CFIA is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products. If other high-risk products are recalled,CFIA will notify the public through updated Food Recall Warnings.

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Symptoms can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Although infected pregnant women may experience only mild, flu-like symptoms, the infection can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn or even stillbirth. In severe cases of illness, people may die.

Fonterra Pleads Guilty to Food-Safety Violations

 

 

 

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra pleaded guilty Thursday to four food-safety violations following a botulism scare last year.

 

Government officials earlier in the day filed charges accusing the world's largest dairy exporter of processing and exporting products in a way that didn't meet standards and then failing to notify officials quickly enough when it became aware of the lapses.

 

Maury Leyland, a Fonterra manager, said the company immediately filed guilty pleas to all charges. Fonterra faces a maximum fine of 500,000 New Zealand dollars ($426,000). The botulism scare sparked a global recall of infant formula but turned out to be a false alarm. It came after the company processed whey protein concentrate in dirty pipes in one of its factories in the North Island's Waikato district.

 

Initial tests indicated the presence of botulism bacteria in the concentrate but later tests found it to be another, less harmful bacteria. Leyland, who led an internal operational review following the incident, said the company was implementing procedures to try to prevent similar problems in the future. "It was a serious event, but it was one event," Leyland said. "It comes against a backdrop of years of supplying high-quality product and high-quality food to the world." The scare in New Zealand was treated with the urgency of a national emergency. That's because the dairy industry drives the economy and companies like Fonterra are able to command a premium in the country's biggest export market, China, because of their reputation for providing high-quality products.

 

Fonterra is a cooperative owned by 10,500 farmers that enjoys a near-monopoly on New Zealand milk. It has annual revenues of more than $15 billion. The charges and guilty pleas come the week before New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is scheduled to visit China. Part of his mission there will be to try and reassure Chinese officials about the quality of New Zealand's farm products.

 

The botulism scare didn't appear to dent China's growing appetite for New Zealand milk. Statistics New Zealand reported exports of New Zealand dairy and meat products rose by 18 percent in the December 2013 quarter when compared to the previous quarter.

FDA seeks input on environmental impact of safety rule

The Food and Drug Administration wants more input on how the Food Safety Modernization Act’s proposed produce safety rule will affect the environment.

The agency has scheduled a public meeting on April 4 in College Park, Md., to discuss the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed rule. That FSMA segment establishes standards for growing, harvesting, packing and holding produce, according to a news release.

The agency also is extending the comment period on the environmental impact statement from March 14 to April 18. The FDA expects to publish a draft environmental impact statement this year for public comment.

The environmental impact statement is required under the National Environmental Policy Act and is different from the process FDA has announced to revise parts of the proposed rule and seek comment on the revisions.

In December, the FDA said it plans to revise parts of the proposed rule and publish it for public comment by early summer. The FDA has developed alternatives where potential environmental impacts are likely.

Specifically, the FDA said alternatives have been identified:

 

Microbial standard for agricultural water used during growing activities for covered produce (other than sprouts) using a direct water application method;

Minimum application intervals for biological soil amendments of animal origin;

Measures related to animal grazing and animal intrusion; and

Scope of the rule and implications to land use and land management.

 

The FDA also is seeking public input on other issues to consider for in-depth analysis in the Environmental Impact Statement.

Comments can be sent to http://www.regulations.gov using docket number FDA-2011-N-0921, according to the release.

G8 could open door of opportunity for food safety

World Health Organization's director of the department of Food Safety and Zoonoses, Dr. Kazuaki Miyagishima, is helping to put food safety on the G8 agenda with a rapid alert system topping the list.

The importance of rapid food safety information exchange was met with nodding approval by G8 representatives, according to Dr. Miyagishima, who participated in one of the G8 preparatory discussions hosted by the Russian Federation a few weeks ago.

But it has been a long time coming as food safety was last on the G8 agenda more than ten years ago, according to Dr. Miyagishima. Then the impact of mad cow disease, along with the issue of GMO among others, was vivid and there was "high public attention."

And yet since then, Dr. Miyagishima told Foodnavigator that the world had not become safer in this regard, with many big events such as the melamine scandal. Melamine was illegally added to Chinese infant formula in 2008, resulting in six children dying and 50,000 hospitalized.

These days the slightest fault or intentional misdeed of food producers in one country can easily impact a remote area within 24 hours. This according to Dr. Miyagishima, is why "the most important part of the food safety agenda will be the quick information exchange or rapid alert. That was the part of food safety when I saw the G8 countries nodding."

The globalization of food production and trade has increased the potential likelihood international incidents involving contaminated food. The International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) connects food safety authorities around the world to swiftly exchange information and help prevent foodbourne outbreaks spreading.

The Joint initiative between WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) includes 181 members states. However more than two thirds of participating states are not distributing information, just receving it, according to Dr. Miyagishima, who said: "Most of thees contact points are in listening mode. i don't think they are proactive."

He said they are now awaiting an invitation to the next round of G8 discussions to further put their case for food safety. However he added: "We still don't know if we will have the G8 summit at all."

The G8 -Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US (the G7) and the Russian Federation - meet each year to discuss global issues and this year the summit is in Russia. However, earlier this week the G7 leaders and the EU decided to suspend their "participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G8 Sumit in Sochi in June, until the environment comes back where the G8 is able to have meaningful discussion". This was in response to Russian military action in crisis-hit Ukraine following a popular uprising.

Nevertheless, if events in Ukraine do set back talks this year, Dr. Miyagishima said: "If we miss that opportunity we will try next year."

Common sense, moderation are key on food safety issues

There is often debate over whether or not certain household and food-related products are safe for consumer use or consumption. The controversy often causes media hype that can scare consumers into avoiding common and useful items.

According to Dr. Joseph Drabick, an oncologist with Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, many of these claims, cause needless worry.

Drabick said there is no known proof to support the assertion that using any plastic container in the microwave is unsafe. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires laboratory testing for plastic containers to make sure the chemicals do not leak into food to be deemed microwave safe.

"I would just use common sense and use FDA-approved containers," he said.

Tubs that margarine comes in and Styrofoam take-out containers aren't considered safe because they can melt in the microwave. Drabik said that even people who rely heavily on their microwaves do not need to be concerned. But based on the concerns that have been raised about the dangers, Dr. Matthew Kaag, a urological oncologist at Penn State Hershey, suggested erring on the side of caution and recommends using glass or ceramic containers whenever possible.

"Much has been written recently about some of the chemicals that can leach out of certain plastics," he said.

Polycarbonates may release BPA, Styrofoam may release styrene and polyvynyl chloride (PVC) may contain pthalates and dioxin. According to the FDA, the levels of these toxins released into food are not enough to harm a person in an average lifetime.

Artificial sweeteners have also been a topic of debate.
"In my opinion, the 'all things in moderation' rule is in effect," Kaag said. "All sweeteners—artificial and natural—have risks."

Empty calories from sugar contribute to weight gain, diabetes and tooth decay, while there is some evidence that artificial sweeteners may actually increase appetite and stimulate overeating. Kaag believes natural sweeteners like stevia and erythritol may represent a middle ground, but they raise questions about appetite stimulation as well. While some artificial sweeteners have been linked with health problems like cancer, available studies suggest that the amount used in foods are not enough to be harmful.

"I think in general the currently approved sweeteners are safe, but Americans as a whole would benefit from curbing our collective sweet-tooth," Kaag said.

Another food safety issue that is often debated is charred meat. There is some evidence that charring the meat—as can occur when grilling or broiling, for instance—can create cancer-causing carcinogens. But there is something simple you can do to reduce the risk.

"Studies suggest that marinating your meats prior to cooking decreases the likelihood of charring when you cook them on the grill, which reduces the level of these compounds you might ingest," Drabick said.

Drabick adds that that a diet low in animal products and high in fresh fruits and vegetables is probably optimal for health. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain many diverse and complex compounds believed to counteract cancer-causing processes.

When Can We Be Guaranteed Safe Food?

Food safety has come to the top of China's national political agenda during the annual NPC and CPPCC meetings. At today's press conference, the Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu admits that food safety issues are the result of a lack of supervision. CRI's Ding Lulu finds out what ordinary people want the government to do about this issue.

 

57 year-old retiree Li Jianhua was born and raised in the city of Jinan, capital of Shandong Province in east China. His wish to add some green to his life has turned the little hill in front of his city center apartment into a miniature farm, with peach trees, beans, and all sorts of vegetables.

"I just thought it was quite dirty over there and it's in front of my apartment, so I wanted to make it greener. I grew some vines and we can eat all the fruits when they are ripe, so I told my neighbors to help themselves and they love the produce. I turned it into a vegetable farm gradually, I bought cabbage seeds and cucumbers this year."

The popularity of Mr. Li's produce is due to it being completely organic and therefore safe. Li Jianhua only fertilizes his garden with manure which he ferments himself from animal feces. A big food safety scandal in his city two months ago still rattles people's nerves even now. Meat sold in a local Walmart store labeled as donkey meat was actually found to be fox meat. Donkey meat is a popular snack in some parts of China, but foxes are mainly raised for fur while their meat is generally considered inedible. Mr. Li is still upset about the whole scandal because it was uncovered by a customer owing to a lack of sufficient government supervision.

"With the Walmart scandal, if the consumer had not complained and had the meat tested, we would always have been kept in the dark. We ordinary people cannot tell the difference just by tasting the food. Without advanced testing equipment, how can we tell? This shows that the supervision from relevant authorities is not carried out effectively enough to cover the upstream producers."

Li Jianhua also believes food safety remains a major concern as the food sector is highly competitive but lacks proper supervision. He recalls a trip to a nearby farm, where the owner gave him some organic cucumbers together with an industry secret. 

"The farmer told me that I can't eat cucumbers sold on the market because progesterone is used in the farm. It's a type of hormone contained in contraceptive pills. Cucumbers grown using the hormone ripen within days; the flower doesn't even wither when the cucumber is 20 centimeters long. He said all the cucumbers sold on the market with flowers on it are grown using the hormone."

Food safety issues are a bitter topic in China. Poor supply chain management has frequently led to scares in products ranging from baby milk to cooking oil.

Mr. Li says he hopes during the two sessions, the government can do something significant enough to stop the constant food safety scandals.

"My expectation is that the government can strengthen supervision. If it cares about people's health, the supervision over food should be constant. Every batch of food should be checked. The current system consists of random spot-checks; I think it's wrong. The tainted meat scandal involving the big company Shuanghui was revealed by the media instead of government supervision."

Li Jianhua suggests that the current spot-check system gives producers room to maneuver as they self-select which samples to send to regulators.

The labs have already been built, the equipment has been bought, so why aren't they being used more effectively?

FDA says imported food labels must be in Mandarin

TAIPEI -- Companies that sell imported food products should make sure the ingredients are clearly labeled in Mandarin, otherwise they risk a fine of up to NT$3 million (US$99,000), health authorities said yesterday.

Hsu made the remarks at a news conference in Taipei that was called by lawmaker Lin Tsang-min of the ruling Kuomintang, who raised the issue of imported food labeling.According to the Act Governing Food Sanitation, imported food products must be labeled in Chinese, said Hsu Chin-feng, an official at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Lin said some imported food products in supermarkets and grocery stores in Taiwan do not carry Chinese-language labels and he called for tighter inspections of such products.

Hsu, meanwhile, said the law allows a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$3 million for violations of the Chinese-language labeling regulation.

Is China Blocking FDA Inspectors?

In late 2012 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked the Chinese government about the possibility of stationing 20 inspectors in China to supplement the nine staff it already had there at the time. The request wasn't unreasonable. “The crucial ingredients for nearly all antibiotics, steroids and many other lifesaving drugs are now made exclusively in China,” noted the New York Times on Feb. 14. Yet, despite the ever-increasing volumes of exported drugs and food from China to the United States, and a mid-December 2013 agreement with the Chinese government personally brokered in Beijing by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, most of those added inspectors are still in the United States, awaiting visas.

FDA spokesperson Christopher Kelley declined to comment on the issuance of the visas, nor why they might have been delayed. In a Feb. 21 email, however, he noted that the FDA has 13 staff members currently based in China and the agency “continues to use its existing in-country staff and inspectors on short-term trips from the United States to ensure the safety of FDA-regulated products from China.”

Though no fault of the FDA, that’s simply not good enough. Of the 278,307 foreign food facilities registered by the FDA, 26,743 are located in China, according to Food Safety News. And those facilities export a lot: Between 2003 and 2012, Chinese exports to the U.S. grew from 2.3 billion to 4.1 billion tons.

According to a Bloomberg News report from December, the FDA can perform 20 to 25 food-related inspections per year in China at current staffing levels. The new staff -– there are to be ten drug and seven food inspectors -- would increase that number to 160, with pharmaceutical inspections receiving a similar boost. That’s a big (if hardly sufficient) improvement.

In December, Christopher Hickey, the director of the FDA’s office in Beijing, told Bloomberg News that the Chinese government had opposed visas for five FDA inspectors intended for China, and conceded that the U.S. didn't know the “full story” as to why. It’s possible that Chinese officials are keenly aware that China remains a major hub for drug counterfeiting and are reluctant to open up their factories to scrutiny. Indeed, the current FDA office in China was opened after a counterfeit blood thinner manufactured in China-caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries in the States.

Chinese newspapers are filled almost weekly with stories of contaminated and counterfeit food; U.S. inspectors probably wouldn't have much trouble uncovering additional cases. Nonetheless, far from being a threat, the added inspectors should be viewed as an opportunity for China's best manufacturers and food producers to earn approval -– quickly –- for the entry of their products into the U.S. market. FDA approval remains the global pharmaceutical gold standard, and the benefits of earning it aren't confined to the U.S. market alone.

Of course, it’s never comfortable to be subjected to foreign inspectors on your own soil. But long-term it’s surely worth the trouble, if only to avoid antagonizing U.S. consumers, and a U.S. Congress increasingly suspicious of China’s commitment to food and drug safety. Approving the FDA visas will benefit both countries, and it’s time that China makes good on its promise to do so.