Protecting Public Health through Food Safety

United States Department of AgricultureOffice of Food Safety

Protecting Public Health through Food Safety

Brian Ronholm

Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety

U.S. Department of Agriculture


Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)• Protects public health by ensuring the

safety and proper labeling of the commercial meat, poultry, and processed egg products supply

• 10,000 people – inspectors, scientists, veterinarians, educators

• > 6,200 plants every day; 150 million head of livestock; 9 billion birds

• Outbreak response, enforcement, laboratory testing, food defense, food safety education


Foodborne Illness

• Sickens 48 million Americans every year

• Causes 128,000 hospitalizations • Kills more than 3,000 people • Costs Billions • Is preventable


A Complex Challenge

• Inherent risk of products• Markedly increased demand• Changes in production, supply chain,

distribution• Changing epidemiology, microbial ecology• Emerging pathogens, chemical hazards, novel

vehicles• Increased risk of intentional contamination• Changing consumer expectations, demands• Increasing at-risk population


What are we doing about it?


Interagency Collaboration

• President’s Food Safety Working Group

• Charged with improving U.S. food safety system

• Prioritizing Prevention; Enhancing Surveillance and Enforcement; Improving Response and Recovery

• FoodNet• Healthy People 2010/2020• Outbreak Response• Attribution (IFSAC)


Food and Drug Administration

• Responsible for produce, dairy, seafood, other foods

• Animal drugs, feed• Food Safety Modernization Act

• Mandate for Prevention• Greater oversight of imported food• Mandatory Recall Authority• Enhanced collaboration with public

health agencies


FSIS FDA

Meat, Poultry Produce, Dairy, other foods

Catfish (future) Seafood

Egg Products Shell Eggs

Continuous, Daily Inspection Intermittent Inspection

No on-farm jurisdiction On farm- animal drugs, feed

Consumer Education Consumer Education


Cheese Pizza - FDA


Pepperoni Pizza - USDA


Shell Eggs - FDA


Processed Eggs - USDA


FSIS Regulatory FocusFSIS regulates food safety for• Red meat: Beef, veal, pork, minor

species, raw and ready to eat (RTE)• Poultry: Chicken, turkey, minor

species, raw and RTE• Processed egg: Dried, frozen and

liquid (non-intact)


Bipartisan Legislation


Committee Jurisdiction


Food Safety Focus at USDA

• Prevention• Tools• People

• Based in Science• Executed through Inspection


Food Safety Focus at USDA:

In Action

• Implementing Prevention-Based Policies

• Strengthening Data Collection, Analysis, and Use

• Leading a True Farm-to-Fork Effort


Target PathogensHistorical Regulatory Focus

• Salmonella – raw and RTE products• Shiga toxigenic E. coli O157:H7 – raw beef (ground

beef and components)• Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) – RTE products

Emerging Regulatory Focus• Campylobacter – raw poultry• Non-O157 shigatoxigenic E. coli – raw beef

Other pathogens and indicator bacteria• Exploratory and investigative purposes


Implementing Prevention-Based Policies: Production

Environment • Beef Safety

• Changes to our testing programs• Pushing prevention upstream in process• Non – O157 STEC Policy

• Proactive Approach• 113,000 Illnesses Annually• Six additional strains of E. coli declared

adulterants in non-intact raw beef• Effective March 2012


Implementing Prevention-Based Policies in the

Production Environment • Poultry Safety

• Tough new performance standards• Understanding drivers of high human

illness rates• Ground Poultry Safety Initiatives

• Ready-To-Eat Safety• Joint risk assessment


Leading a True Farm-to-Fork Effort

• Consumer Education• Ground Breaking - Food Safe

Families Campaign (Partnership with the Ad Council)

• Clean : Clean kitchen surfaces, utensils, and hands with soap and water before and after preparing food.

• Separate : Separate raw meats from other foods by using different cutting boards.

• Cook : Cook foods to the right temperature by checking with a food thermometer.

• Chill : Chill raw and prepared foods promptly.


Food Safety: The Road Ahead


Strengthening Data Collection, Analysis and Use

• The Public Health Information System• A robust data management and

proactive decision-making tool• Automates and integrates multiple FSIS

systems into a single, comprehensive data system

• Facilitates information-sharing• Identifies trends and anomalies before

public is at risk


Leading a True Farm-to-Fork Effort

• Pre-harvest Food Safety• E. coli O157:H7 Guidance for beef

slaughter establishments• Charge to National Advisory Committee

on Meat and Poultry Inspection• Successful Public Meeting – November

9 • Cross Agency Working Group – One

Health


Thank You

Protecting Public Health through Food Safety

Technology

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