Institute for Food Safety and Health

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM (CDT)

FDA’s Proposed Regulations for Sprout Production – What You Need To Know Institute for Food Safety and Health Wednesday, March 20, 2013 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM (CDT)

Event Details

 

Speakers include:

• Dr. Samir Assar, Director, Produce Safety Staff, FDA CFSAN
• Ms. Joy Johanson, Consumer Safety Officer, Produce Safety Staff, FDA CFSAN
• Dr. Stephen Grove, Manager, Industry Projects, Institute for Food Safety and Health, IIT

The webinar will feature an overview of the proposed Produce Rule by Dr. Samir Assar and Joy Johanson, with particular emphasis on the requirements for sprout production. The proposed requirements include the use of validated seed sanitation procedures, testing of sprouts or spent sprout irrigation water for pathogens, and implementation of environmental monitoring plans. Stephen Grove, Coordinator of the Sprout Safety Alliance, will discuss the efforts currently being undertaken by the Sprout Safety Alliance to create a robust training curriculum focusing on best practices for safer production of sprouts. The webinar will conclude with a live Q&A session.

 http://bit.ly/ZdpUgi

FSIS Notice 16-13

FSIS Notice 16-13
Preparations for Industry Access to the Public Health Information System (PHIS)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE
WASHINGTON, DC
16-13 2/22/13 FSIS NOTICE
PREPARATIONS FOR INDUSTRY ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH
INFORMATION SYSTEM (PHIS)

I. PURPOSE
This notice makes inspection program personnel (IPP) and import inspection personnel aware of the
upcoming industry access to the Public Health Information System (PHIS) and instructs IPP and import
inspection personnel to inform establishment management of the upcoming opportunity to access PHIS. It
also instructs IPP and import inspection personnel to ask establishment management to provide the name
and contact information of their designated Establishment Administrator, and to enter that information in
the establishment’s PHIS profile.
II. BACKGROUND
FSIS began implementation of PHIS in April, 2011 with the domestic inspection module. Since then, FSIS
has continued the phased implementation of other PHIS components. In June, 2012, FSIS implemented
the import inspection module of PHIS. From the initial conception of PHIS, FSIS has intended to offer
direct access to representatives of official meat and poultry establishments and official import inspection
establishments to facilitate the transfer of information from PHIS to establishment management and to
facilitate official communication between FSIS and establishment management. In early 2012, FSIS
granted access to PHIS on a pilot basis to a representative sample of establishments. Based on the
feedback received during that pilot, FSIS improved the industry component of PHIS and tested those
improvements in a second pilot in late 2012. FSIS will begin allowing establishments to initiate PHIS
access on February 25, 2013. In a recent letter to industry, FSIS asked establishment management to
provide the name and email address of the designated Establishment Administrator to IPP or import
inspection personnel in writing to facilitate accurate recording of the information in PHIS.
III. AWARENESS MEETING
A. IPP and import inspection personnel are to meet with establishment management to discuss the
contents of this Notice either at the next weekly meeting or at another meeting within a week of receiving
the Notice. IPP and import inspection personnel are to discuss the following information with
establishment management and document the discussion in a Memorandum of Interview (MOI) as
described in FSIS Directive 5000.1:
1. FSIS will be implementing industry access to PHIS beginning on February 25, 2013 according to
the schedule below;
DISTRIBUTION: Electronic NOTICE EXPIRES: 3/1/14 OPI: OPPD PHIS access will roll out for domestic meat and poultry establishments in the District Offices (DOs)
as listed below. PHIS access will be available for all official import establishments on March 18,
2013.
OFO Districts States Implementation Date
Alameda Arizona, California, Nevada February 25, 2013
Atlanta Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico,
South Carolina, Virgin Islands
March 4, 2013
Chicago Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Ohio
March 11, 2013
Dallas Louisiana, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Texas
March 11, 2013
Denver Alaska, American Samoa,
Colorado, Idaho, Guam,
Hawaii, Northern Mariana
Islands, Montana, Nebraska,
Oregon, Utah, Washington,
Wyoming
March 18, 2013
Des Moines Iowa, Minnesota, North
Dakota, South Dakota,
Wisconsin
March 18, 2013
All Official Import
Establishments
Nationwide March 18, 2013
Jackson Alabama, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Tennessee
March 25, 2013
Philadelphia Connecticut, Massachusetts,
Maine, Hew Hampshire, New
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Vermont
March 25, 2013
Raleigh Delaware, District of Columbia,
Maryland, North Carolina, New
Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia
April 1, 2013
Springdale Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri April 1, 2013
2. If establishment management chooses to access PHIS, they will be able to perform the following
activities through the PHIS application:
a. Review, respond to, or appeal noncompliance records electronically;
b. Review, export, or print reports of certain establishment-specific data, including inspection
results and lab sample results;
c. Review, export or print a report of the PHIS profile for the establishment, which includes the
following categories of information about the establishment:
i. General information such as location, FSIS District and Circuit, Size, Inspection
Activities, and Jurisdiction;
ii. Active HACCP process categories;
iii. Inspection grants;
iv. Approved operating schedule and pre-op sanitation schedule;
2 v. Mailing and shipping addresses;
vi. Parent Company;
vii. Establishment contact personnel;
viii. Product groups and estimated production volumes;
ix. Active inspection tasks;
x. Basic information about hazard analyses at the establishment; and
xi. Slaughter lines, if applicable.
3. Even if establishment management chooses not to access PHIS, they can receive notification of
noncompliance records (NRs) via email by providing a valid email address and asking IPP and
import inspection personnel to mark the “NR Notification” check box for the applicable
establishment representative(s) on the Contacts page of the Establishment Profile in PHIS;
4. Establishments can elect to enroll in PHIS at a later date if they choose not to enroll at this time;
5. If establishment management informs IPP and inspection program personnel that they do not
intend to enroll in PHIS at this time, IPP and inspection program personnel are to document the
information in the MOI;
6. If the establishment wishes to access PHIS, it must:
a. Have Internet access using one of the supported Web browsers. PHIS is a Web-based
application that requires Internet access. The PHIS User Guide for Industry, available at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PHIS/index.asp, lists the Web browsing software supported by
PHIS;
b. Designate an individual to serve as the Establishment Administrator in PHIS. This
individual will then be responsible for administering PHIS roles for other representatives of
the establishment. Once he or she enrolls in PHIS as the Establishment Administrator, this
individual will be able to approve enrollment for up to two additional Establishment
Administrators as well as other establishment users that have roles in PHIS. Each
establishment can have up to 3 Establishment Administrators at one time. At this time, any
individual can be enrolled in PHIS for only one establishment at a time;
c. Ensure that the individual designated to serve as the Establishment Administrator has
access to a valid email address to receive PHIS-related communication from FSIS; and
d. Obtain Level 2 eAuthentication credentials for any individual who wishes to access PHIS.
Industry can find information about obtaining Level 2 eAuthentication credentials in a letter
to industry about PHIS from the FSIS Administrator on the FSIS Web site. If establishment
management is not familiar with the industry letter, IPP and import inspection personnel are
to provide this link to establishment management:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/phis/PHIS_Letter_120210_Almanza/index.asp .
7. To set up an Establishment Administrator account in PHIS, establishment management will need
to follow these steps:
a. Provide the name, work phone number, and email address of the individual who will be the
Establishment Administrator to IPP or import inspection personnel assigned to the
establishment. The IPP or import inspection personnel will record the desired
Establishment Administrator in the establishment profile of PHIS (see instructions below).
The name and email address must be the same ones the individual used to register for
Level 2 eAuthentication;
3 b. The designated Establishment Administrator will then log into the PHIS Web site
(https://phis.fsis.usda.gov) using his or her Level 2 eAuthentication credentials to request
enrollment in PHIS; and
c. PHIS will validate the request by comparing the user’s Level 2 eAuthentication account
information to the contact information for the Establishment Administrator contact type in
the PHIS Establishment Profile. If they match, PHIS will immediately grant the user the role
of Establishment Administrator in PHIS.
8. If establishment management later needs to change the Establishment Administrator, the existing
Establishment Administrator can grant that role to another individual. If for some reason the
existing Establishment Administrator is unable to perform that function, then the establishment can
repeat the steps above for a different individual to enroll as Establishment Administrator;
9. The PHIS User Guide for Industry, available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PHIS/index.asp,
provides instructions for establishments on how to use PHIS;
10. If establishment management encounters problems with the PHIS enrollment process, they can
contact the FSIS Service Desk at 1-800-473-9135 and follow the prompts: Press “1” for problems
concerning PHIS, then Press “2” for PHIS establishment management experiencing application
problems;
11. If establishment management encounters problems with eAuthentication, they can contact the
USDA eAuth Help Desk at eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov or 1-800-457-3642; and
12. If establishment management has concerns that IPP or import inspection personnel are not
recording the designated Establishment Administrator’s contact information in PHIS in a timely
manner, they can raise that concern to the next level in the supervisory chain.
a. For meat and poultry establishments, the chain of command would be: Inspector-In-Charge
at the establishment; Frontline Supervisor, Deputy District Manager, and District Manager;
and
b. For import inspection establishments, the chain of command would be Import Inspector,
Regional Import Field Supervisor, Import Inspection Division Director.
IV. IPP AND IMPORT INSPECTION PERSONNEL UPDATE PROFILE
A. When the establishment provides the name of the individual who will serve as the first Establishment
Administrator, IPP and import inspection personnel are to record the Establishment Administrator as a
new contact with the contact type of “Establishment Administrator” on the Contacts page of the
establishment profile in PHIS. The individual may already be listed on the contacts page with one or more
other contact types, but IPP and import inspection personnel are to record the Establishment Administrator
as a new contact. IPP and import inspection personnel are to perform the following steps to enter the first
name, last name, phone number, and email address of the establishment’s designated Establishment
Administrator exactly as given by the establishment:
1. Select Establishment Profile/Select Establishment in the left navigation menu;
2. Find the desired establishment on the “My Establishments” tab and click the blue house icon to
open the profile for that establishment;
3. Select Establishment Profile/Contacts from the left navigation menu to open the contacts page for
4that establishment;
4. Confirm that the desired establishment is showing at the top of the contacts page;
5. Click on “Add New Contact” to open the Plant Contacts details page;
6. Select “Establishment Administrator” from the Position drop-down menu;
7. At a minimum, type the Establishment Administrator’s first name, last name, phone number, and
email address exactly as provided by establishment management in the appropriate fields. Record
additional information for the Establishment Administrator if requested by establishment
management; and
8. Click “Save” and verify that the new contact appears as expected in the list of plant contacts; and
B. Each establishment can have up to three Establishment Administrators listed at a time in PHIS.
However, IPP and import inspection personnel only need to enter the initial Establishment Administrator in
PHIS for enrollment validation. After that point, the initial Establishment Administrator will manage any
additional PHIS enrollment for the establishment. Other establishment roles managed by the initial
Establishment Administrator will not display in the Contacts page of the Establishment Profile.
V. DATA ANALYSIS
OCIO will periodically report the number of Industry Users using PHIS and the Industry-related service
desk tickets to assess the adoption and utilization of PHIS for industry users. DAIG will conduct ad hoc
analyses as requested.
VI. QUESTIONS
Refer questions regarding this notice to the Policy Development Division through askFSIS or by telephone
at 1-800-233-3935. When submitting a question, use the Submit a Question tab, and enter the following
information in the fields provided:
Subject Field: Enter FSIS Notice 16-13, or Industry access to PHIS.
Question Field: Enter your question with as much detail as possible.
Product Field: Select General Inspection Policy from the drop-down menu.
Category Field: Select Public Health Information System (PHIS) from the drop-down menu. Policy
Arena: Select Domestic (U.S.) Only or International (Import Export) from the drop-down
menu.
When all fields are complete, press the Submit button.
Assistant Administrator
Office of Policy and Program Development
5

HACCP Managers Public Training Courses:

Link to site:  http://www.foodqualityservices.com/haccp-training/

HACCP Managers Public Training Courses:

Newark NJ – We will be offering our two day HACCP Manager training course on April 4th and 5th, 2013, followed by the Certified HACCP Manager Exam at the conclusion on the second day
Horsham PA – We will be offering our two day HACCP Manager training course on April 15th and 16th, 2013, followed by the Certified HACCP Manager Exam at the conclusion on the second day. See details below.
The Newark, NJ course will be limited to seven participants. This course will be designed for manager level participants. It will be conveniently located in Newark, NJ at the Historic Military Park Building located at 60 Park Place. The Military Park Building is a block away from NJ PAC and it is walking distance from Newark Penn Station. See map below.

All participants must register for the class no later than March 25 2013. The
registration fee of $450, includes the official NEHA
HACCP text book, which will be shipped as soon as the registration fee is received.
The fee also includes lunch on both days and the proctored HACCP Manager certification exam, which will be given at the end of the second day.
The Horsham, PA course will be offered in the new and state-of-the-art QC Laboratories food testing laboratory. The registration fee is $400 and includes the official NEHA
HACCP text book, which will be shipped as soon as the registration fee is received.
The fee also includes lunch on both days and the proctored HACCP Manager certification exam, which will be given at the end of the second day. QC laboratories is offering an addition 10% discount for their customers. QC labs will offer a tour of their food testing laboratory during one of the breaks. See map below.

If you are interested in attending either course, please Email GREG@FOODQUALITYSERVICES.COM for registration materials.
AGENDA
Day 1
8:30 – 9:00am Check In
9:00-9:15am Introductions

9:15-10:45

• What is HACCP
• Understanding Hazards and Target Consumers
• Hazards and HACCP
  • Chemical Hazards
  • Physical Hazards
  • Biological Hazards
  • Hazards and Foods
  • Why It Is Important – Consequences of Hazards

10:45: 11:00 Break
11:00 – 11:30

• Contemporary Laboratory Analysis
  • Qualitative Analysis
  • Quantitative Analysis
  • Chemical Analysis
  • Allergen Analysis
  • Filth Analysis

11:30 – 12:00 Exercise #1 Understanding Hazards
12:00-12:45 Lunch
12:45-2:45

• GMPs
• SOP’s
• SSOP’s
• Prerequisite Programs – Applying Controls In Food Processing

2:45-3:00 Break
3:00-4:30

• Step 1 Creating The HACCP Team
• Step 2 Describing The Products in Your HACCP Plan
• Step 3 Looking at the Ingredients
• Step 4 Understanding and Documenting the Flow
• Step 5 Verifying The Flow

4:30-5:30 Exercise #2 Understanding Controls
Day Two
8:30-9:00 Check In
9:00-10:45

• Principle 1 The Hazard Analysis
• Principle 2 Identifying Critical Control Points
• Principle 3 Establishing Critical Limits
• Principle 4 Establishing Monitoring Procedures

10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-12:00

• Principle 5 Corrective Actions
• Principle 6 Verification
• Principle 7 Record Keeping

12:00-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:30 Exercise #3 Understanding the Principles of HACCP

• Review of Course Material

1:30-3:30 HACCP Managers Certification Exam
It is required in HACCP that at least one member of the HACCP team be formally trained in HACCP. GFSI standards including, SQF, BRC and ISO 22000 PAS 220 require that all training show proof of comprehension. To address the increasing need from our customers to offer a certified HACCP training course with proof of comprehension, we are now offering this training course and the prestigious Prometric Certified HACCP Manager exam. It is a nationally recognized, challenging and scored 80 question exam. The participant must pass the exam to receive the HACCP Managers Certificate.

 

 

Epi-Ready What is it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Is Epi-Ready?

Developed in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Epi-Ready is a two-day in-person workshop for environmental and public health professionals with responsibility for investigation of foodborne illness outbreaks. With a team-based approach to training, Epi-Ready focuses on how to efficiently and effectively respond to an outbreak by understanding the roles and responsibilities of the disciplines involved—using the analogy of the 4-legged stool. What happens to a stool (investigation) if one leg is broken or missing?

 

The Epi-Ready 4-legged stool represents collaboration between the three disciplines involved in a foodborne illness investigation, environmental health specialists/sanitarians, epidemiologists and laboratory staff. The fourth leg of the stool comprises all others who directly or indirectly are involved in outbreak investigations, including public health nurses, health educators, industry, risk communication/public information officers, and others.

Workshop content is designed to follow the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR) Guidelines.

 

Topics are covered through a combination of lecture, question and answer sessions, interactive group exercises and final case study.

Epi-Ready goals are that each leg of the stool…

• Better understand the roles and responsibilities of all disciplines in an investigation.
• Build a more efficient working relationship and open lines of communication with partners.
• Understand that collaboration is KEY!

Click here to view a recording of a free webinar on Epi-Ready and Epi-Ready for Industry (I-FIIT-RR).

For more information on Epi-Ready Team Training, please contact Ginny Coyle, gcoyle@neha.org, phone: 303-756-9090, ext 346.

Abstract Submissions for NEHA's Annual Educational Conference 2013

Deadline Extended Abstract Submission Deadline Extended to October 19, 2012 There is still time to submit an abstract for the opportunity to present at the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) 2013 Annual Educational Conference (AEC) & Exhibition. The deadline to submit an abstract has been extended to October 19, 2012. NEHA is seeking abstracts for the AEC that bring the latest advances and unique responses to environmental health and protection problems. This is your opportunity impart knowledge that helps advance and motivate environmental health professionals. Simultaneous training and educational sessions are offered at the conference covering over 20 different environmental health topics. NEHA offers two different types of learning environments at the AEC—Lecture and Learning Lab. For Lecture sessions, applications for single or multiple speaker presentations are being accepted. For the Learning Lab, NEHA is accepting abstracts for hands-on demonstrations, tabletop exercises, panel discussions, poster presentations, roundtable discussions, and other types of interactive and innovative presentation formats. To participate in the Call for Abstracts, visit neha2013aec.org. The NEHA 2013 AEC will be held July 9-11, 2013 in the Washington, DC area. The NEHA AEC is the premier event for environmental health training, education, networking, advancement, and more! National Environmental Health Association 720 S Colorado Boulevard Suite 1000-N Denver, Colorado 80246 US

CDC research shows outbreaks linked to imported foods increasing

Fish and spices the most common sources

Foodborne disease outbreaks caused by imported food appeared to rise in 2009 and 2010, and nearly half of the outbreaks implicated foods imported from areas which previously had not been associated with outbreaks, according to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, presented today at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta.

“It's too early to say if the recent numbers represent a trend, but CDC officials are analyzing information from 2011 and will continue to monitor for these outbreaks in the future,” said Hannah Gould, Ph.D., an epidemiologist in CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases and the lead author.

CDC experts reviewed outbreaks reported to CDC’s Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System from 2005-2010 for implicated foods that were imported into the United States. During that five-year period, 39 outbreaks and 2,348 illnesses were linked to imported food from 15 countries. Of those outbreaks, nearly half (17) occurred in 2009 and 2010. Overall, fish (17 outbreaks) were the most common source of implicated imported foodborne disease outbreaks, followed by spices (six outbreaks including five from fresh or dried peppers). Nearly 45 percent of the imported foods causing outbreaks came from Asia.

“As our food supply becomes more global, people are eating foods from all over the world, potentially exposing them to germs from all corners of the world, too,” Gould said. “We saw an increased number of outbreaks due to imported foods during recent years, and more types of foods from more countries causing outbreaks.”

According to a report by the Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. food imports grew from $41 billion in 1998 to $78 billion in 2007. Much of that growth has occurred in fruit and vegetables, seafood and processed food products. The report estimated that as much as 85 percent of the seafood eaten in the United States is imported, and depending on the time of the year, up to 60 percent of fresh produce is imported. ERS also estimated that about 16 percent of all food eaten in the United States is imported. The types of food causing the outbreaks in this analysis aligned closely with the types of food that were most commonly imported.

Gould warned that the findings likely underestimate the true number of outbreaks due to imported foods as the origin of many foods causing outbreaks is either not known or not reported.

“We need better - and more - information about what foods are causing outbreaks and where those foods are coming from,” Gould said. "Knowing more about what is making people sick, will help focus prevention efforts on those foods that pose a higher risk of causing illness.”

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration has have stepped up its efforts to conduct environmental assessments to determine the root cause of outbreaks. With lessons learned from outbreaks, measures will be taken to prevent such outbreaks in the future. The newly enacted FDA Food Safety Modernization Act is also a major step in establishing a prevention based food safety system that would address domestic as well as imported foods. CDC, FDA and USDA will continue to work together to prevent foodborne illness and stop harmful products from entering commerce.

Additional information on CDC’s foodborne outbreak surveillance is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/outbreaknet/surveillance_data.html

NEHA Accepting Applications for Food Safety Specialist

Department: EZ
Title: Food Safety Specialist
Reports to: Program Administrator EZ
Based at: National Environmental Health Association in Denver, CO

Job Purpose:

The Food Safety Specialist will be a central resource and subject matter expert for NEHA with regards to food safety and food safety initiatives. This position is responsible for overseeing major food safety training requirements and developing training programs and schemes. This position is also charged with keeping abreast of state and federal food safety legislative initiatives and making recommendations.

Key responsibilities and accountabilities:

• Develop and maintain databank of associations and their key members with regards to food safety initiatives, recommendation councils, collaborations and regulatory work groups
• Develop and maintain databank of key NEHA members with regards to food safety training and initiatives including panels and boards on which they sit.
• Develop and maintain appropriate communications lines with state and federal regulatory agencies to ensure up-to-date information on activities and initiative
• Maintain current information on actions and requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
• Assist in Grant writing and RFPs appropriate for NEHA Food Safety.
• Develop and maintain social media communication, including monthly e-newsletters on pertinent food safety information.
• Assist in development and maintenance on NEHA Food Safety training agendas including subject material and instructor training
• Research and report on possible new food safety credentials
• Orchestrate job task analysis panels for current and new credentials and maintenance program
• Oversee Food Safety Credential Registry and ensure program is meeting expected milestones
• Advise on key food safety concerns
• Follow state and federal food safety legislative initiatives and advice NEHA management.
• Advise Executive Director on Food Safety Issues
• Travel as appropriate to represent NEHA’s interests in various food safety related events

Qualifications:

Possess excellent verbal and written communications skills with the ability to effectively express abstract ideas. Individual must have a strong background in food safety with a working knowledge of private sector and regulatory food safety programs. The individual must be highly motivated, self-driven, results-oriented with a positive outlook, and a clear focus on high quality work. This individual must be able to work independently with minimal direct supervision. The person should have a strong working knowledge of adult training schemes. Knowledge of IACET standards is a plus. This individual must be a team player

Educational and Work Experience Expectations:
• 5 plus years in a food safety work environment
• Bachelor’s degree or higher