Building for a Healthy Tomorrow
Although it applied to all segments of the food and beverage industries, the IFT show's 'healthy' theme carried a particular significance for the meat industry
by Bryan Salvage, editor
The theme for this year's Institute of Food Technologists' Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Atlanta was "Building for a Healthy Tomorrow."
On pages 22 to 28, MM&T presents coverage of an opening session speech delivered by USDA Secretary Mike Espy; comments from executives who exhibited during the exposition; some of the new items that were on exhibit; and a list of some of the healthier alternative meat products that have been introduced since 1990.
Espy touts safety efforts
"We are making decisions based on public health, not public relations. And we're setting policy based on pure science, not political science," Espy commented on USDA's "mission" of guaranteeing a safe food supply.
Espy's speech focused heavily on the meat and poultry inspection reform activities in wake of last year's E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak in which four children died.
"We learned that we needed to do more to expand enforcement, improve research and increase public awareness," Espy pointed out. "During the past 18 months, we have launched more than 70 initiatives to develop a more science-based inspection system, improve the existing system, and reduce the incidence of food-borne pathogens throughout the [food] chain."
Prior to his speech at IFT, Espy visited Clay Center, a meat research center in Nebraska, where he saw a rapid test to detect bacteria on carcasses. Similar tests on poultry lines were also underway in Georgia. These tests can detect the presence of bacteria signifying contamination in a carcass in five minutes.
"[The tests] are as accurate and as repeatable as the 48-hour plate culture to determine bacterial levels," he stressed. "This same team of USDA scientists is also working on rapid tests that are specific to E. coli and salmonella. These tests will give our on-line inspectors microbial vision.
"We have come a long way in a year, but we aren't there yet," he added. "Many naysayers said at first that a rapid test in a meat processing plant was impossible."
Espy told the audience of seeing the Internet phone lines "light up" as scientists worldwide tapped into the lab's database to use the genetic map for beef, cattle and swine.
"Scientists anywhere, by using the Internet database, can finally determine precise locations of genes that control desirable traits in cattle and hogs like resistance to disease, lower fat, fast growth and meat tenderness," Espy said.
"Think about it: Disease-resistant cattle that do not require antibiotics; pork with less fat and more protein; safer meat resistant to microbes that cause food-borne disease."
Microbial studies are being conducted to determine the kinds and levels of microorganisms affecting meat and poultry.
"These studies will provide us with the basic baseline data we must have to measure the success of future efforts to reduce harmful bacteria," Espy noted.
"Last March, we proposed a poultry enhancement program to end the imbalance between red meat and poultry inspection," he continued. "This initiative includes requirements for zero tolerance of fecal matter, microbial testing and FDA-approved rinses."
USDA recently unveiled proposed poultry inspection rules that include zero tolerance.
War on E. coli 0157:H7
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that between 7,600 and 20,400 Americans become ill-and from 120 to 360 die-each year from E. coli 0157:H7. And this is just one of many harmful pathogens that are ubiquitous in animal digestive tracts and fecal matter.
USDA is working with the CDC, FDA and other federal, state and local agencies, as well as the private sector, to implement broad initiatives for improving food safety.
And Espy defended the much-criticized policy of zero tolerance for fecal matter.
"No amount of fecal matter is acceptable," he stressed. "We have conducted specific training for inspectors on how to better enforce this policy. In developing our overall training for inspectors, we have included input from whistle-blowers, critics and consumer advocates."
Utilizing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point program in all federally inspected meat and poultry plants is an essential element in USDA's overall plan for reforming inspection, Espy reiterated. USDA is expected to unveil a proposed rule for HACCP by the end of the year.
"We know that prevention is the key to improving food safety. HACCP is universally recognized as the method that works," Espy pointed out.
Espy also stressed the need to have trained personnel in the plants. During the past two years, USDA has hired 200 additional inspectors and plans are underway to hire 200 more.
"We've also established a team of inspectors to perform unannounced reviews at slaughter plants," Espy noted.
"We are now working with OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] to report dangerous working conditions in plants. We've set up a public health division within FSIS; and an FSIS official is working with CDC to track E. coli outbreaks and enhance our cooperative efforts to reduce the occurrence of food-related health problems."
Team effort
Consumers and food preparers also must play a major role in ensuring food safety, Espy added. And both groups need more education on proper handling and cooking of foods.
"That's why we mandated safe handling instructions on raw and unprocessed meat and poultry," Espy noted. "We have also launched an unprecedented campaign to teach millions of Americans how to prepare the meat they purchase."
Public service announcements have been sent to 5,000 radio stations, packets on safe food handling have been sent to 9,000 fast-food operations, and USDA is producing a video on safe food handling for the Women's, Infant and Children program clinics.
Espy also claimed meat safety success on the farm front.
"We are rapidly closing in on our goal of ending two long-time threats to the health of U.S. livestock and the public-bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis," he said.
Forty states and the Virgin Islands are free of bovine tuberculosis. Although industry is concerned about the risk of exposure from imported Mexican steers, Espy added that he "is very encouraged by the Mexican government's plans for a broad-ranging, ambitious program to irradicate bovine tuberculosis from its livestock."
Current statistics indicate there are only 235 cattle herds under quarantine for brucellosis. Strides are being made in ending brucellosis in swine.
"Beginning in March, we provided fair market value indemnities to producers who destroy brucellosis-infected swine herds," Espy said. "As of May 20-just 60 days after our rule went into effect-the number of brucellosis-infected swine herds dropped from 34 to nine."
Food safety is also an international issue. Although the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade offers a tremendous opportunity to open new global markets for value-added food products, it will be a tremendous challenge under Codex Alimentarius-the international food standards-setting board of the World Health Organization.
Espy said: "We are pushing for the recommendation by Codex that only scientific consideration be allowed to influence decisions on public health standards."