Consumer Demand Flavors Food Import Safety IssuesOctober 22, 2007COLLEGE STATION - An ever-changing U.S. consumer who enjoys the convenience of ready-to-eat produce and seasonable fruits during the dead of winter has brought new challenges to food import safety, experts said Oct. 18. With U.S. food imports set to top more than $2 trillion this year and expected to triple by 2015, a panel on food safety commissioned by President Bush met at Texas A&M University to discuss ways to strengthen the national and global import infrastructure. Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said the nation's consumer is one who "expects to eat strawberries in February."
That has led to more change and complexity among how food is processed and delivered into the U.S. "This nation and the people we serve, and their health that's so critically important, is threatened - not that we haven't been doing a good job," he said. "In fact, we've been doing an incredibly good job. But the world is rapidly changing around us. Although we have been the gold standard (in food safety), we must respond and be prepared for new challenges that are emerging from radical changes." Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples told the group "consumers' tastes and preferences are changing. "They are demanding specialty products from around the world, seasonal products such as fruits and vegetables," Staples said. The working group, comprised of senior officials from 12 federal departments and agencies, is charged to report an action plan by mid-November. Additional information on the panel's activities can be found at http://www.importsafety.gov . The panel recommendations for the day were summarized by Dr. Kerri Harris, director or the Center for Food Safety and one of the organizers of the event. They were: - No single entity has sole responsibility for making sure imported food is safe. Cooperation between all entities -- including governmental agencies, industry and universities -- is essential to regain public trust. - All decisions have to be based on the best available science. - Current technology for traceback and communication has to be applied and new technology developed. - A push for a major education and training component has to be applied in the U.S. and internationally. - Data sharing - even though there may be legal hurdles to overcome - between industry and government would be very beneficial. The meeting at Texas A&M included import safety experts from eight universities and five corporations. Issues such as global process control, verification activities, and supply chain management were discussed throughout the day. "Texas A&M is a leader in food safety research, and we're very honored to be host of this important conference," said Dr. Elsa Murano, vice chancellor and dean for agriculture and life sciences at Texas A&M. Texas A&M Agricultural Communications | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Food Safety Current Events and Food Safety News Articles UCSB researchers develop cross-protective vaccine Doctors have always hoped that scientists might one day create a vaccination that would treat a broad spectrum of maladies. They could only imagine that there might be one vaccine that would protect against, say, 2,500 strains of Salmonella. Advance offers revolution in food safety testing Microbiologists at Oregon State University have developed a new technology to detect illness-causing bacteria - an advance that could revolutionize the food industry, improving the actual protection to consumers while avoiding the costly waste and massive recalls of products that are suspected of bacterial contamination but are perfectly safe. Is the Salad Bar Safe? Produce Concerns Linger after Summer Scares Widespread reports had most people afraid to eat tomatoes this summer and when tomatoes were vindicated, eating peppers became a fear. A University of Missouri food safety expert says there is only so much that can be done to assure produce is safe to eat. Expert urges FDA to take action to reduce BPA exposure In the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers report a significant relationship between urine concentrations of the environmental estrogen bisphenol A (BPA) and cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities. Iowa State University experts can discuss new FDA produce irradiation rule The Food and Drug Administration's new (Aug. 22) regulation that will allow irradiation pasteurization to be used on fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce to kill illness-causing bacteria is a step that two Iowa State University professors have long advocated. New mushroom study shows the power of energy density Preliminary research, led by Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, MD, Director of John Hopkins Weight Management Center, suggests increasing intake of low-energy density foods, specifically mushrooms, in place of high-energy-density foods, like lean ground beef, is a strategy for preventing or treating obesity. Pathogen that causes disease in cattle also associated with Crohn's disease People with Crohn's disease (CD) are seven-fold more likely to have in their gut tissues the bacterium that causes a digestive-tract disease in cattle called Johne's disease. New UGA invention effectively kills foodborne pathogens in minutes University of Georgia researchers have developed an effective technology for reducing contamination of dangerous bacteria on food. Even before tomato warning, many Americans lacked confidence in the food safety system A new national study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security finds that, in spite of a number of food safety incidents in recent years, most Americans remain confident that the food produced in the United States is safe. However, many have concerns about the safety of imported food produced in some other countries. Study finds healthy intestinal bacteria within chicken eggs: Finding could have important implications for poultry industry, food safety The conventional wisdom among scientists has long been that birds acquire the intestinal bacteria that are necessary for good health from their environment, but a new University of Georgia study finds that chickens are actually born with those bacteria. More Food Safety Current Events and Food Safety News Articles |
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