EdNet June 2010
EdNet, the National Food Safety Educator’s Network, is a monthly, multi-agency electronic news journal from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).EdNet provides up-to-date information about food safety and nutrition programs and activities for educators, consumer advocates, government officials, and industry representatives.
If you have questions or comments about this issue of EdNet, send e-mail to the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA).
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In this issue:
Advisories, Alerts, and Warnings
- FDA Warns Consumers to Avoid Magic Power Coffee
- FDA Cautions on Accurate Vitamin D Supplementation for Infants
- The USDA Offers Food Safety Tips in Preparation for Hurricane Alex
Resources for Educators
- Be Food Safe This Independence Day -- USDA Offers Summer Grilling Tips
- United States, Russia Reach Agreement to Resume Poultry Exports to Russia
- NOAA, FDA Continue Ramping Up Efforts to Ensure Safety of Gulf of Mexico Seafood
- FDA Seizes More Than $32,000 Worth of Bulk Honey from Philadelphia Distribution Center
- FDA Takes Action Against California Soy-Product Manufacturer Lifesoy
- Barbecue Basics: Tips to Prevent Foodborne Illness
- Keep Food Safe Blog at Food safety.gov
- "Amber Waves Magazine," June 2010
- New Podcasts (FSIS)
Meetings, Conferences, and Workshops
- FSIS, FDA, and CDC Measure Progress on Food Safety -- Current Status, Future Directions and Public Meetings (USDA, FDA, CDC)
- USDA to Host Red Meat Mobile Slaughter Unit Information Session
- USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service Announces Public Meetings to Gather Input on New Draft Validation Guidance
- FDA’s Public Workshop on Measuring Progress in Food Safety - Current Status and Future Directions (Transcript)
Industry
Advisories, Alerts, and Warnings
FDA Warns Consumers to Avoid Magic Power Coffee
FDA is warning consumers that Magic Power Coffee, an instant coffee product marketed as a dietary supplement for sexual enhancement, contains an active drug ingredient that can dangerously lower blood pressure. Consumers who have Magic Power Coffee should stop using it immediately. Sexual enhancement products that claim to work as well as prescription products are likely to expose consumers to unpredictable risks and the potential for injury or even death. In the case of Magic Power Coffee, the FDA collected and analyzed the product and determined that the product contains hydroxythiohomosildenafil. This is a chemical similar to sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra.
Read the news release:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm216335.htm
FDA Cautions on Accurate Vitamin D Supplementation for Infants
On June 15, 2010, FDA alerted parents and caregivers that some liquid Vitamin D supplement products are sold with droppers that could allow excessive dosing of Vitamin D to infants. The FDA also advised manufacturers of liquid Vitamin D supplements that droppers accompanying these products should be clearly and accurately marked for 400 international units (IU). In addition, for products intended for infants, FDA recommends that the dropper hold no more than 400 IU.
Read about how excessive amounts of Vitamin D can be harmful to infants:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm215150.htm
The USDA Offers Food Safety Tips in Preparation for Hurricane Alex
On June 30, 2010, as Tropical Storm Alex strengthened into the season's first hurricane and prompted hurricane warnings from Baffin Bay, Texas to La Cruz, Mexico, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a news release providing recommendations to minimize the potential for foodborne illnesses due to power outages and other problems often associated with severe weather.
Read entire press release:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_063010_01/index.asp
Resources for Educators
Be Food Safe This Independence Day -- USDA Offers Summer Grilling Tips
Many Americans will celebrate the Fourth of July holiday by grilling or attending cookouts. On June 28, 2010, the USDA issued a news release reminding consumers that following safe food handling steps are the key to making your cookout safe and healthy for your guests.
Read the news release:
http://www.usda.gov/2010/06/0347.xml
United States, Russia Reach Agreement to Resume Poultry Exports to Russia
On June 24, 2010, the United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack welcomed the announcement that the United States and Russia have reached an agreement to permit the resumption of U.S. poultry exports to Russia.
Read the news release:
http://www.usda.gov/2010/06/0343.xml
NOAA, FDA Continue Ramping Up Efforts to Ensure Safety of Gulf of Mexico Seafood
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the FDA are taking additional steps to enhance inspection measures designed to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico reaching America’s tables is safe to eat. The Federal government, led by FDA and NOAA, is taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure that seafood from Gulf waters is not contaminated by oil. The strategy includes precautionary closures, increased seafood testing inspections and a re-opening protocol.
Learn about the current federal closure of 32 percent of federal waters:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm215493.htm
FDA Seizes More Than $32,000 Worth of Bulk Honey from Philadelphia Distribution Center
At the request of the FDA, Federal marshals seized 64 drums of imported bee’s honey from a Philadelphia distribution center on June 4, 2010, because it contained a potent antibiotic that could lead to serious illness or death. The FDA estimates the value of the seized goods to be more than $32,000. U.S. Marshals executed this seizure pursuant to a warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. FDA testing of a sample of this product at the storage facility showed that it contained chloramphenicol, which is not approved for use in food, animal feed, or food-producing animals in the United States.
Read more about how the FDA acts after finding potent antibiotic in bulk honey:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm215193.htm
FDA Takes Action Against California Soy-Product Manufacturer Lifesoy
Lifesoy Inc., a San Diego-based manufacturer of ready-to-eat soy products, was cited by the FDA for preparing, packing, and holding articles of food under insanitary conditions. Lifesoy Inc. has entered into a consent decree of permanent injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The consent decree requires Lifesoy to stop manufacturing and distributing food products until the company registers with the FDA and complies with Federal laws regarding sanitary practices.
Read more about the allegations against Lifesoy:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm214627.htm
Barbecue Basics: Tips to Prevent Foodborne Illness
It's the season for picnics, cookouts, and other outdoor parties. But eating outdoors in warm weather presents a food safety challenge. Bacteria in food multiply faster at temperatures between 40°F and 140°F, so summer heat makes the basics of food safety especially important.
"Fortunately, there are a lot of steps consumers can take to keep family and friends from becoming ill," says Marjorie Davidson, Ph.D., education team leader in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Review steps consumers can take to keep family and friends from foodborne illness:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094562.htm
Keep Food Safe Blog at FoodSafety.gov
Have you seen some of the latest food safety blogs? Read about practical information and tips from the experts to help you and your family stay food safe.
Read the Keep Food Safe blog:
http://foodsafety.gov/blog/blog.html
"Amber Waves Magazine," June 2010
The June 2010 issue of the "Amber Waves Magazine" from USDA's Economic Research Service is now available online:
http://ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/
New Podcasts
Tune in to podcasts on selecting, handling and preparing meat and poultry products to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. FSIS has released the following new Food Safety At Home podcasts:
- Grilling Safely with Bobbie and Sam (English, Spanish, ASL) – June 30
- Food Safety at Home: How to Use a Food Thermometer (Spanish) – June 23
- Surviving a Power Outage: Don't Be in the Dark When it Comes to Food Safety (English and Spanish) – June 16
- Let’s Talk About Mold in Foods (English and Spanish) – June 2
Check out these podcasts:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_&_events/Podcasts/index.asp
Get Spanish language consumer podcasts:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/En_Espanol/Podcasts_SP/index.asp
Get Video-casts in American Sign Language:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_&_events/SignFSIS/index.asp
To continue automatically receiving podcasts, renew your subscription, or for assistance, send e-mail to podcast@fsis.usda.gov.
Meetings, Conferences, and Workshops
FSIS, FDA, and CDC Measure Progress on Food Safety -- Current Status, Future Directions and Public Meetings
On June 29, 2010, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), FDA, and CDC took another step in the Agencies' collaborative efforts to measure progress in reducing illness, harm, and death from contaminated food by announcing two joint public meetings to hear stakeholder presentations on measuring progress on food safety. The two meetings are being held in Chicago, IL, on July 21, 2010, and in Portland, OR, on October 20, 2010.
Read the news release:
http://www.usda.gov/2010/06/0348.xml
USDA to Host Red Meat Mobile Slaughter Unit Information Session
On June 11, 2010, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it is hosting a red meat mobile slaughter unit information session on June 24, 2010. The goals of this information session are to educate farmers, ranchers and processors on how to set up mobile slaughter units, receive the federal grant of inspection and meet USDA food safety requirements. The session is being held in response to interest in USDA's efforts to support local/regional slaughter through the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative.
Read the news release:
http://www.usda.gov/2010/06/0318.xml
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service Announces Public Meetings to Gather Input on New Draft Validation Guidance
On June 4, 2010, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it will hold a series of public meetings to discuss and receive public input on the Agency's draft proposed guidance concerning Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Validation. FSIS made a preliminary draft of the validation guidance available in March in order to hear from the public earlier in the guidance development process, as requested by a number of stakeholders. The guidance does not create any new requirements on establishments, but rather clarifies existing requirements and provides direction on how processors, especially small processors, can meet them.
Read the news release:
http://www.usda.gov/2010/06/0304.xml
FDA’s Public Workshop on Measuring Progress in Food Safety - Current Status and Future Directions (Transcript)
On March 30, 2010, the FDA held a public workshop entitled, “Measuring Progress in Food Safety - Current Status and Future Directions.” The transcript from that workshop is now available.
View the transcript:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/WorkshopsMeetingsConferences/ucm216259.htm
Industry
General Food Defense Plan Now Offered in Four Additional Languages
In an effort to provide assistance to small and very small plant owners and operators, FSIS has made available the Food Defense Plan: Security Measures for Food Defense, in four languages - Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and traditional Mandarin Chinese.
Having a functional plan will maintain a safe working environment for employees, increase preparedness, contribute to the protection of consumer health, provide additional process control and expedite the establishment's ability to respond quickly during emergencies.
Review the Food Defense Plan:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Food_Defense_&_Emergency_Response/index.asp
FSIS Policy Updates
FSIS issues Notices and Directives to protect public health. The following policy update was recently issued:
- FSIS Notice 31-10: “General Food Defense Plan”
- Docket No. FSIS-2010-0015: “Notice of Request for Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection (Pathogen Reduction/HACCP)"
- Docket No. 2010-0011: “Exemption for Retail Store Operations”
- FSIS Notice 30-10: “Instructions for Carcass Selection for the National Residue Program Scheduled Samples”
- Notice 27-10: “’Salmonella Subtyping Results in Raw Products”
Access All Notices and Directives:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/index.asp
