Overview of Post-Harvest Food Safety in ARS James A. Lindsay National Program Staff USDA - Agricultural Research Service www.nps.ars.usda.gov/appvs/foodsafety Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the organizers of the meeting for inviting me to present an outline of current research on Pathogen Detection and Control as it relates to the objectives and perspective of the U.S. Food Safety Initiative. I have divided the presentation into two parts. In the first part I will discuss the rationale for the formation of the Initiative, how it is structured, and what effects it will have on food safety research within the United States. In the second part I will outline the goals and specific research areas of concern for Detection and Control, giving examples of research priorities and current projects for the ARS, which might suggest areas for cooperative or mutual research between the United States and Canada

ARS Food Safety Research Budget 2001 ($M) Pre-Harvest 53.71 Post-Harvest 37.36 Pathogen Control 48.17 Detection Methods 17.47 Hand/Distr/Stor 11.91 Risk Assessment 6.54 Antibiotics 5.33 Antimicrobials 1.65 271 scientists 112 projects coded to NP108 83 100% coded 31 Post Harvest Pathogen Reduction 64.57 Mycotoxins 17.72 Residues 5.17 Poisonous Plants 3.61

ARS Food Safety Research Budget 1986 - 2001

Goals and Specific Projects Within Post-Harvest Food Safety Program Develop methods for regulatory, industry and research use Elucidate ecology of pathogens on foods and within the processing environment Develop intervention strategies, processing and control technologies to aid regulatory agencies in establishing the basis in regulation for HACCP Evaluate effect of intervention strategies in foods and on microorganisms Provide data to carry out risk assessment; develop predictive microbial models; and identify areas where interventions are most critical. Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Impact of Food Safety Program Means to ensure food supply is safe for consumers; meets foreign, domestic regulatory requirements More secure and competitive food production systems Develop effective handling practices /treatments for fresh and minimally processed foods, maintenance beneficial attributes Provide scientific information for guidance/HACCP programs that effectively control pathogens Decrease risk of food-borne illness, enhancing public confidence Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Projects Within Post-Harvest Food Safety Program (indirectly/directly) Projects Within Post-Harvest Food Safety Program (indirectly/directly)? Addressing New Performance Standards for the Production of Processed Meat and Poultry Products Annual Reports of All Projects in Food Safety Program Available at www.ars.usda.gov, on disc, and in bound form Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Pathogen Reduction Research Budget 1995 – 2001

Indirectly Assist: Develop Methods for Indirectly Assist: Develop Methods for Regulatory, Industry and Research Use Biosensors processes for detecting pathogenic bacteria in foods (Shu-I Tu) New technology and systems to detect and prevent microbial food contaminants (Purdue) Stress responses and virulence expression of bacterial pathogens in food environments (Fratamico) Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Indirectly Assist: Ecology of Pathogens on Foods Indirectly Assist: Ecology of Pathogens on Foods and Within the Processing Environment Reduction and control of pathogens associated with food processing surfaces (Arnold) Adhesion and control of pathogens to and on surfaces: poultry and produce (Mandrell) Effects of processing treatments on safety and quality of raw and cooked poultry products (Lyon) New technologies for decontamination of fresh fruit and vegetables containing human pathogens (Sapers and Fett) Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Directly Assist: Through Development of Intervention Directly Assist: Through Development of Intervention and processing Strategies, Microbial Modeling: Within ARS Improve microbiological safety and shelf life of food by treatment with ionizing radiation (Thayer) provided significant data on irradiation to regulatory agencies hot-dogs and L. monocytogenes 5 log reduction of Lm achieved with 3.6 kGy Lm sensitivity vs product formulation an issue Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Directly Assist: Through Development of Intervention and Processing Strategies, Microbial Modeling: Within ARS Development of Intervention Processes to Enhance the Microbiological Safety of Heat Sensitive Foods (Kozempel) hot-dogs and L. innocua VSV surface pasteurization 0.3 sec at 138C/3-4 cycles achieved a 5 log reduction, visually unchanged Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Directly Assist: Through Development of Intervention and Processing Strategies, Microbial Modeling: Within ARS Assurance of Microbiological safety of Thermally Processed Foods (Juneja) provided significant amount of data used in development of performance standards assessed effects and interactions of of temperature, pH, salts, fat on inactivation of E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes and S. typhimurium DT104 established safe cooling rates for cured beef, chicken and pork, defining time/temperature to control C. perfringens Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Directly Assist: Through Development of Intervention and Processing Strategies, Microbial Modeling: Within ARS New Technologies to improve and Assess Food Safety in Muscle Foods (Solomon and Berry) previous work on beef patty color and safety future studies directed towards using shock waves generated by hydrodynamic pressure as an intervention strategy Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Directly Assist: Through Development of Intervention and Processing Strategies, Microbial Modeling: Within ARS L. monocytogenes and frankfurters “hot-dog study” (Luchansky) Pathogen Modeling Program (Tamplin) Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Cooperative Research - National Alliance Food Safety Dose-response of infection following intragastric inoculation of L. monocytogenes in RTE products (U. Wisconsin) Identification of novel virulence markers in food isolates on L. monocytogenes for rationale design of detection strategies (North Carolina State) Irradiation and packaging treatments for controlling L. monocytogenes and improving sensory acceptability of RTE turkey roll (Iowa State) Eliminating L. monocytogenes from packaged RTE poultry products (U. Arkansas) Comparison of L. monocytogenes virulence in a mouse model for use in risk assessment (CFS - U. Georgia) Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

Other Cooperative Research Institute Food Research, Norwich,UK on pathogen modeling Universities and Institutions within the EU Listeria genomics with TIGR Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.

ARS has made significant efforts to address issues for FSIS Summary ARS has made significant efforts to address issues for FSIS Agency will continue to provide as much data as possible to FSIS on L. monocytogenes, Salmonella and other pathogens for establishing in regulation food safety performance standards for ready-to-eat foods Briefly outlining some of the areas of focus with detection and control of pathogens: in poultry the focus is on the usual suspects, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens, the epidemiology and ecology of these organisms the use of competitive exclusion cultures such as the defined culture PREEMPT, or cytokine modulation from Larry Stankers groups in Texas, the undefined cultures or yeasts from Norman Sterns group at Athens, or disease production problems such as osteomyelitis from Gerry Huff in Arkanksas. I should also include the antimicrobial research under NARMS which is an interagency endeavor involving the USDA agencies ARS, APHIS, and FSIS, the CVM-FDA and CDC.