GEORGIA FOOD SAFETY AND DEFENSE TASK FORCE

Meeting Minutes – March 25, 2014

This meeting was held at the Georgia Department of Agriculture headquarters. Priya Nair called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. Please see the attachment “Sign In Sheet” for the full list of attendees. There was an estimated 43 people in attendance, including those on teleconference.

  1. Round of introductions.
  1. Opening Remarks by Dr. James Sutton, Chief of Operations at the GDA.
  1. Task Force Updates by Priya Nair.
  2. Priya provided an overview on survey feedback provided by TF members in September, which led to an updated mission statement and objectives.
  3. Meetings could be held at alternate locations (Macon, Athens, etc.); if a member is interested in hosting, please contact Priya.
  4. Meetings will be held twice this year, with teleconferencing option.
  5. Members include industry, academia, regulatory and consumers.
  1. Legislative Update by Sydne Smith, Director of Policy at the GDA.
  2. Raw milk bill did not pass during this session, but a hearing was held on the issue and a new bill will likely be introduced next year; we as a task force may wish to consider our thoughts on the issue.
  3. Gov. Nathan Deal and the general assembly provided budget enhancements for the Georgia Dept. of Ag’s Consumer Protection budget, which includes the Food Safety Division.
  1. GEMA Update by Dr. Paul Williams from GEMA.
  2. GEMA supports our activities in a foodborne outbreak if and when it rises to the need on a statewide and/or federal level, through activations of Emergency Support Functions (ESF-8, Public Health, and ESF-11, Agriculture). GEMA has Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) located in every county around the state. GEMA works with industry to provide training and exercises. He also mentioned that Georgia has about 150+ companies that fall on the National Critical Infrastructure list.
  1. Presentations.
  2. Chris Smith, Retail Food Specialist with FDA Atlanta District, presented on the 2013 FDA Food Code.
  3. Krissa Jones, Rapid Response Team Program Manager with the GDA, presented on Georgia’s Food and Feed Rapid Response Team.
  1. Epidemiological Update by Hope Dishman.
  2. There has been an uptick in norovirus, but no official outbreaks.
  3. After two recent listeria outbreaks in cheese products, new technology referred to as whole genome sequencing is being used by CDC, FDA and USDA.
  4. There is a new rule proposed by the National Poultry Improvement Plan, which would allow mail-order hatcheries to participate in a formal Salmonella control program. Comments are due by March 31.
  1. Closing remarks.
  2. Next meeting to be held Oct. 29, 2014. Specific location TBD; if your organization can host, please contact Priya to confirm. Also need interested speakers to provide 30-minute presentations.
  1. Links, Dates and Announcements, Attachments

Links:

  • DRAFT Georgia Food Safety and Defense Task Force Website – Task force members are requested to review the content and provide suggestions, additional links and any other feedback on the information currently provided on the site.
  • Barfblog - North Carolina health departments partner with Yelp to provide health inspection information.
  • FDA Food Code NEW – A summary of changes to the Food Code.
  • Input requested regardingFDA’s Reportable Food Registry and Used to Notify Consumers in Grocery Stores.
  • Comment period extended to May 22 for FDA’s draft methodological approach to identifying high-risk foods.

Dates:

  • April 8-9 – Starting a New Food Business in Georgia Workshop, sponsored by UGA held in Athens.
  • April 22 – Georgia Grown Symposium, hosted by the GDA will feature four panel discussions relevant for farmers and specialty food producers.
  • April 22-24 – Spring Meat & Poultry HACCP Workshop, sponsored by UGA held in Athens. (A fall workshop will also be held Oct. 7-9.)
  • May 3-7 – Conference for Food Protection – Orlando, FL
  • May 6-8 – Hands-on HACCP for Fresh Cut Produce, sponsored by UGA, held in Athens.
  • May 8 – Georgia Association for Food Protection is having their Spring Meeting at the Salvation Army Temple, 2090 North Druid Hills Road NE, Atlanta, Ga.
  • July 16-18 – Interstate/Georgia Environmental Health Association Annual Seminar will be held in Savannah, Ga. Click here for the registration information.
  • Dec. 9-11 – FDA Southeast Regional Retail Food Safety Seminar will be held in Savannah, Ga. More details will be shared as they become available.

Attachments:

  • Presentations from both Chris and Krissa are available upon request.
  • Copy of the sign in sheet is available upon request.

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