FDA Grant Aims to Improve Food Safety

A recent Listeria outbreak infected 72 people from 18 states according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To date, 13 deaths have been reported.

A recent Listeria outbreak infected 72 people from 18 states according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To date, 13 deaths have been reported.

Unfortunately, such outbreaks are not unusual. The CDC estimates that approximately 76 million people get sick each year from contaminated food and more than 300,000 are hospitalized. 5000 of these cases are fatal.

Because of increasing concerns over food safety, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently offered Alabama’s Auburn University a $6.5 million grant to strengthen the protection of the US food supply. Under a five year program Auburn will implement a national food training program based on the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act .

“Under this program, new ways will be provided where all inspectors will have equal opportunity to have training,” said Patricia Curtis, director of Auburn’s food systems initiative and leader of the FDA program in a telephone interview.

According to Curtis, Auburn’s food systems initiative provides further training for different commodities to address the varying backgrounds of food inspectors. “It’s a process,” she notes.

“There is such a huge array of commodities and inspectors are usually specialized in particular areas. Continuing education is very important as there are always new pathogens.

Curtis says that the training will help keep inspectors current on pathogens and educate them on different products available to deal with an outbreak.

The Auburn program will work with over 3000 local health agencies, and coordinate with city and county officials to monitor food supplies at restaurants and supermarkets. State health and agriculture agencies will inspect food manufacturing facilities; the FDA and other federal agencies will monitor the foods that are imported.

“Auburn will work with the FDA to strengthen protection of our food supply and improve the way we detect and respond to foodborne illness,” said Curtis.

Before the Auburn program, food inspectors did not receive any standardized training and there were no requirements with regards to skill levels for those positions, in addition to a system to keep food safety personnel up to date on new inspection technologies, changes in laws and regulations or developments in food safety science.

“Our long-term goal is to play a major national role in the food safety arena for the benefit of consumers and the agriculture industry,” said John Mason, Auburn University vice president for research in a press release.