Fall 2017 | Affiliate View Affiliate View Volume 22, Issue 4 | Fall 2017 To provide food safety professionals worldwide with a forum to exchange information on protecting the food supply Alex Castillo, Affiliate Council Chair James O’Donnell, Affiliate Council Secretary View from the Chair: Inside this IAFP: The Bolt of Unification issue: View from the Chair: 1 In my inaugural column, I food safety organization, with four Alex Castillo standing meetings organized every want to thank IAFP’s Affiliate Dele- Affiliates in the 3 gates for electing me as Affiliate year in four major regions of the Spotlight Council Chair for the coming year. world. In addition, most of our 55 Affiliate Chronicles: 9 It is an honor, and I hope I will rep- Affiliates organize their own meet- IAFP 2017 resent all Affiliates with dignity and ings each year. We have Affiliates Affiliate Council 12 Meeting Minutes effectiveness. IAFP is growing, and located on six continents. This IAFP Headlines 16 every year we seem to charter a means that every year there are new Affiliate, or at least hear of dozens of food safety conferences Affiliate Calendar 17 groups interested in becoming an around the world linked to IAFP! Executive Board 18 IAFP Affiliate. This indicates to me This definitely makes an impact! Speaker Program that as an association, IAFP is IAFP Speaker 19 The multinational participation in successfully sending the message Program (expanded) IAFP is relevant because food trade throughout the world that food is also international. Please allow safety is a major component of me to present relevant data on food our well-being. imports in the U.S. The value of I also want to encourage all Affiliate food imports in the country increas- members to become IAFP Mem- es every year. For example, accord- bers. IAFP is the world’s largest (Continued on page 2) 55 Affiliates Across the Globe African Continental Argentina Australia Brazil Chile Canada | Alberta British Columbia Ontario Quebec China Chinese in North America Colombia Hong Kong Hungary Indian in North America Korea Lebanon Mexico New Zealand Portugal Southeast Asia Spain Taiwan Turkey United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States | Alabama Arizona Arkansas California/Southern Capital Area Carolinas Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Michigan Minnesota Minnesota/Upper Midwest Missouri Nebraska New Jersey New York Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Dakota Texas Washington Wisconsin Affiliate View | Fall 2017 (Continued from page 1) Salmonella tested positive in 3.2% of In future columns of this newsletter, the samples of cucumbers grown in I will talk about food safety manage- ing to the USDA’s Economic Re- the U.S., and in 1.4% of the samples ment and how to apply it at every search Service, the total value of of imported cucumbers. Further- step of the food supply. As the slo- food imports in 2014 was nearly more, according to the CDC, of the gan states: ‘From Farm to Fork.’ $120 billion. Of this, 35% ($41 bil- foodborne diseases reported be- lion) was shared between Canada tween 1998 and 2008, the majority Please take a few minutes to note and Mexico, whereas the rest was (more than 2 million) of these ill- various upcoming deadlines (listed split between 62 other countries. The nesses were linked to eating contam- on page 16), including for Affiliate proximity of the U.S. with Canada inated leafy greens, most of which Annual Reports. It is a requirement and Mexico explains the largest were grown in the U.S. In the same under IAFP Bylaws to submit your amount of foods imported from period, eating contaminated poultry Affiliate Annual Report each year. these countries. In fact, of all agricul- resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths. It And don’t forget to apply for one or tural imports in the U.S., 42% were seems fair to assume that food safety more of the Affiliate Awards. We fruits and vegetables, which are per- issues affect every country, and that had a great increase in applications ishable commodities that need rapid we all should be concerned about for 2017 awards, and we’d like to see transport. When focusing on fruits each others’ issues since, at this time even more Affiliates apply in 2018! and vegetables, the greatest supplier in history, countries are eating each “...know that ALL is Mexico. others’ food. efforts to engage While the U.S. has established mutu- This is where IAFP becomes im- ally beneficial relationships for food portant. I see our Association as a your Members and trade with many countries, there are provide valuable also food safety incidents related to “I see our such trade. As I write this column, food safety people are suffering from salmonel- Association as a information are losis resulting from eating papayas bolt that keeps all contaminated with Salmonella. Inter- worthy of estingly, the involved papayas came countries united in self-recognition.” from three different areas of Mexico, a single effort, one of them being so far away from You may think your Affiliate’s the others that this incident may not protecting people efforts are insignificant, but know be related to the other papayas. from foodborne that ALL efforts to engage your illness.” Members and provide valuable food Over the past few years, 11 multi- safety information are worthy of state outbreaks of foodborne disease self-recognition. And remember, all have been linked to foods imported bolt that keeps all countries united Affiliate Annual Reports, including from four different countries, with in a single effort, protecting people those vying for awards, can now be Latin America at the top of the list. from foodborne illness. We are all submitted electronically. Since large amounts of produce food safety enthusiasts, and we come from Latin America, consum- all enjoy being part of this effort. Until next time…. ers may think that avoiding import- Although I believe it is unrealistic ed fruits or vegetables will protect to think about a global food safety them. Well, think again! The FDA is goal, we can harmonize efforts as conducting testing of cucumbers, much as possible to advance toward Alex Castillo both imported and domestic, and a reduced risk of illness linked to 979.845.3565 according to the preliminary results eating. The key issue is how we do [email protected] published in https://www.fda.gov/ this. All foods need to be produced, Food/ComplianceEnforcement/ processed, and distributed following Sampling/ucm473115.htm#cucumber, adequate food safety systems. 2 Fall 2017 | Affiliate View Affiliates in the Spotlight Take the spotlight! Featuring your communications with IAFP To be featured here in the next issue, send your news and photos by December 1 to: [email protected]. Conference held July 3 in conjunction with the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) Meeting July 4–6 in Nelson, New Zealand. Contributors The one-day NZFSSRC Argentine Food Safety Conference kicked off Commission: Second Affiliate with welcoming addresses, followed Symposium Draws 150 by presentations on each of four re- Reported by Fabiana Guglielmone, President search themes, including: Markets The second Argentine Speakers for the Allergen Management and Perceptions; Risk Landscape; Symposium on Food Safe- Roundtable during the Argentine Symposium Risk Mitigation; and Advance Diag- ty took place June 23–24 at on Food Safety were (from left): Germán Rado, nostic Tools and Analytics. Each ISALUD University in Juliana Simone (coordinator); Maria Cristina topic included speakers from across Buenos Aires, Argentina. Supported López, Sandra Ucha, and Fabiana Guglielmone academia, industry and govern- (Affiliate President). by IAFP and the Argentine Food ment. Input from industry-based Safety Commission (CAIA), the speakers added tremendously to the the conference with a brief overview meeting drew 150 attendees repre- success of the day. of IAFP and its benefits, then spoke senting industry, academia, regula- about “Trends in the USA and the The 3-Minute Student Thesis Com- tory agencies, and research. Impact on Industry and Food Safety.” petition proved a highlight as 11 stu- Under the IAFP Execu- dents faced the challenge of present- Four roundtable discussions took tive Board Speaker ing their research in three minutes place throughout the two-day con- Program, Alejandro with only a single slide for support. ference. Day 1 included “Food Safe- Mazzotta (left), Past All students did a fantastic job and, ty: Prevention Through Hygienic President of IAFP, was after much deliberation from our ex- Design and Critical Control Points;” invited to represent the pert international judging panel, and “New Challenges in Food Safe- Association. He opened Sabrina Greening, a student at ty.” Day 2 included “Allergen Man- Massey University, was declared the agement;” and “Spoilage Microor- winner. Aswathi Soni, a student at ganisms and Their Relationship the University of Otago, took second with Food Safety.” place. (Aswathi also won the stu- New Zealand Association for dent poster competition for her food Food Protection: Joint safety poster on the “Development Conference Features an Array of a Means to Control Bacillus cereus.”) of Food Safety Topics Reported by Phil Bremer, President Another session consisted of mem- Left to right: Fabiana Guglielmone, Ricardo Luna, Alejandro Mazzotta, and Juliana Simone A feast of food microbiology was bers of the Centre’s International took part in sessions at the second Argentine promised with the combined inau- Science Advisory Panel (ISAP), in- Symposium on Food Safety June 23–24 in gural New Zealand Food Safety cluding Arie Havelaar from the Uni- Buenos Aires. Science Research Centre (NZFSSRC) (Continued on page 4) 3 Affiliate View | Fall 2017 (Continued from page 3) gratulated Roger Cook, Delegate, on education is producing a stronger food his appointment as IAFP Executive safety environment in New Zealand.