Iowa Food Safety Taskforce Meeting
June 15, 211
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IOWA FOOD SAFETY TASK FORCE MEETING
The Iowa Food Safety Task Force met on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at the Iowa Cattle Industry Headquarters, 2055 Ironwood Court, Ames, Iowa.
Those in attendance:
Steven Mandernach, DIA
Nancy Degner, Iowa Beef Industry Council
Jerry Fleagle, IA Grocery Industry Association
Dr. Cathy Strohbehn, ISU Extension
Lester Olson, Iowa State University
Jim Dickson, ISU Food Safety Consortium
Sandy Heinen, Black Hawk County Health
Susan Dixon, IA Homeland Security & Emergency Mgmt
Pam Deichman, IDPH
John Moreland, Senator Tom Harkin’s Office
Mary Montgomery, DIA
Those in phone attendance:
Barbara Anderson, Iowa State University
May Schaben, Iowa Restaurant Association
Nancy Hall, IA Hygienic Lab
1. Welcome: Steven Mandernach welcomed all members to the meeting. Members introduced themselves. Special visitors to the campus from Romania and Slovania were also introduced.
2. Budget: Steven Mandernachindicated there was no FDA grant for 2011. Evidently a grant proposal was not submitted, but one was submitted for 2012. No word on any decision at this point in time.
3. DIA Update: Steven Mandernach, DIA Bureau Chief, reported that Carlos Ortega is no longer an employee of the Department due to budget cuts.
DIA signed a contract with FDA to do the egg inspections as of July 2011. Egg inspections will be transferred in July 2012 to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
The Department will continue to work on the Food Code. Before adopting, we will continue to transition to the new Food Code.
Susan Dixon with Emergency Management reported on the flooding issue along the Missouri River and western border of the State.
4. Home Based Food Business: Dr. Strohbehn spoke of last April’s webinar. The webinar is generating constant new questions.
Fruits and vegetable processing, making fresh produce into eating form
Light processing facilities
Best practices; health and hygiene
Farmer’s Markets
100 participants to the webinar
Spoke of a possible webinar for canning businesses before next Spring/Summer.
The webinar format has been well taken and presentation requests. The webinar has been posted to the internet to provide on-demand access.
(see bottom of the page)
5. Iowa Food Systems Council: Steven Mandernach reported they are doing an ongoing food report card. They will clearly articulate their goals in the next few months.
6. Foodborne Illness Outrbreak (FBI):
Pam Deichman from DPH spoke on four areas of improvement related to foodborne illness:
- New and redesigned resources. New website for FBI: google foodborne illness
- Surveillance reports, etc. Reportable diseases. She brought resources and passed out.
- Complaint surveillance. Someone’s perception.
- Look for trends; work in conjunction with DIA who takes FBI reports, improved process.
We’re moving quicker on potential outbreaks: now few days versus few weeks.
Interns calling every night looking for outbreaks
CIFOR grant – National standard for FB investigation
Supported additional activities for state infrastructure
Podcasts (short videos): Three different audiences. They are available on the IDPH foodborne illness website.
What to do if you think you have a foodborne illness? (Public)
What to do if you think a patient has a foodborne illness? (Healthcare professionals)
How to collect a stool sample? (All audiences)
7. FDA Update: Steven reported on the following:
The FDA has added a District Emergency Response coordinator to service Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. The coordinator was helpful in obtaining maps during the flooding of where food processing facilities were located.
Release of new materials for many culture groups (20 different cultures).
Manufactured food side – strong push by FDA to move states to regulatory standards.
Susan Dixon -- International Symposium on Agroterrorism was a 3-day conference held in Kansas City. This is the third Symposium held. The presentations focused on food and agroterrorism.
- Steve asked for approval for:
The Food Safety Task Force was included with an action item in the Leopold Center’s legislatively mandated Iowa Local Farm and Food Plan. The plan recommended the Task Force add a local producer to the membership. A committee of Sandy Heinen, Cathy Strohbehn, and Jim Dickson was formed to nominate potential members.
- Dr. Dickson Presentation: Food Safety How to Get it Wrong or How to Get it Right?
- Human Cost of food safety
- Top 10 agents of foodborne illness
- Top 10 riskiest food – pathogen combos
- Settlement costs
- Salmonella/E. coli
- Public trust
- Escherichia coli – Germany
10. Production to Beef Production by Nancy Degner
11. Presentation from Couser Cattle Company and Beef Industry
Bill & Nancy Couser, Daniel Loy Ph.D, Professor of Animal Science, and Dr. Grant Dewell, DVM, College of Veterinary Medicine
Today’s meeting focused on the beef side. Next series will be on dairy.