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Food Protection Trends
Abstracts - May 2004
Implementing Targeted Good Manufacturing Practices
and Sanitation Procedures to Minimize Listeria Contamination of Smoked Seafood
Products
Assessing Education of Food Handlers and Prerequisite
Programs in Japanese HACCP Plants
Chlorine Depletion in Sanitizing Solutions Used for
Apple Slice Disinfection
Spot the Mistake: Television Cooking Shows as a Source of
Food Safety Information
Implementing Targeted Good Manufacturing
Practices and Sanitation Procedures to Minimize Listeria Contamination of Smoked
Seafood Products
Ken Gall,1* Virginia N. Scott,2 Robert Collette,3 Mike Jahncke,4
Doris Hicks,5and Martin Wiedmann6
1-New York Sea Grant and Cornell Cooperative Extension, Stony
Brook, NY 11794, USA
2-National Food Processors Association, Washington, D.C. 20005, USA
4-Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Hampton, VA 23669,
USA
5-University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program, Lewes, DE 19958, USA
6-Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
SUMMARY
The Smoked Seafood Working Group (SSWG), a collaboration of two national industry
trade organizations, smoked seafood processors and academia, developed guidelines
to minimize Listeria monocytogenes contamination of finished products in smoked
seafood operations. The SSWG identified five elements required for a complete
Listeria control program: (1) Listeria specific Good Manufacturing Practices
(GMPs) and sanitation procedures, (2) employee training, (3) environmental microbiological
monitoring and testing, (4) raw material controls, and (5) temperature controls
for finished product. This manuscript describes specific GMPs and sanitation
procedures to minimize Listeria contamination in smoked seafood operations.
Targeted procedures that need to be implemented include GMPs to prevent cross
contamination caused by improper design and layout of processing operations,
the movement of people and equipment in the plant, and inadequate employee hygiene
and food handling practices. In addition, cleaning and sanitation procedures
for equipment and the processing plant environment that are designed to target
Listeria contamination specifically need to be in place.
Assessing Education of Food Handlers
and Prerequisite Programs in Japanese HACCP Plants
Masahiko Kato,1* Katsumi Naka,2 Hideki Yamamoto,1 and Shohei
Kira1
1-Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School
of Medicine and Dentistry, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Okayama 700-8558
2-Department of Nutrition, Kurashiki Sakuyo University, 3515 Tamashima-Nagao,
Kurashiki, Okayama 710-0209, Japan
SUMMARY
We conducted a written test on food handlers in food production plants that
have implemented the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point System (HACCP) and
plants that have not, questioning the purposes or significance of sanitary operations.
The test performance of HACCP plants was significantly better than non-HACCP
plants (Chi-square test, P < 0.05), suggesting the effectiveness of HACCP
implementation from the point of education and training of food handlers. However,
the correct response rates for “significance of sanitation standard operating
procedures (SSOPs)” and “purposes of record keeping” were low at 63% (239/378)
and 64% (243/378), respectively. We next conducted a questionnaire survey
in HACCP plants nationwide, investigating the state of “SSOPs” and “recording
forms” after a massive outbreak of foodborne disease in 2000 caused by Staphylococcus
aureus enterotoxin A traced to a food product produced in a HACCP plant of Company
Y. Of 162 plants responded, 86% (140/162) reported changing their SSOPs and
95% (154/162) reported changing their recording forms. Over 80% of these plants
changed the documents to add sanitary operations. Therefore, almost all
the plants have attempted to substantiate the prerequisite programs after the
outbreak at Company Y. However, only 67% (109/162) of the plants used their
own recording forms in education and training of food handlers. This very
low rate indicates an urgent need for using the companies’ own documents in
education and training programs.
Chlorine Depletion in Sanitizing
Solutions Used for Apple Slice Disinfection
Pascal Delaquis,* Peter Toivonen, Keith Walsh, Karen rivest,
and Kareen Stanich
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Pacific Agri-Food Research
Centre, 4200 Highway 97 South, Summerland, BC, Canada V0H 1Z0
SUMMARY
Current processing schemes for fresh-cut apple slices normally include a sanitary
treatment consisting of a chlorinated water dip. The antimicrobial effectiveness
of this treatment is questionable because of solute quenching of the sanitizing
solution. The purpose of this research was to assess the effect of chlorinated
water dips on the microbiology of stored apple slices and to examine the fate
of chlorine in a sodium hypochlorite sanitizing solution. Dipping of apple slices
in the solution had no effect on the size and composition of spoilage microflorae
after 14 days of storage at both 5 and 10oC. Evidence of spoilage due to fungal
growth occurred sporadically on the surface of the packaged slices. Chlorine
depletion was rapid in the sanitizing solution, and residual-free chlorine was
reduced to < 2 ppm by the addition of twenty slices to 4 l of solution.
These results indicate that more effective means are required for the removal
or destruction of microorganisms from fresh-cut apple slices.
Spot the Mistake: Television Cooking
Shows as a Source of Food Safety Information
Lisa A. Mathiasen, Benjamin J. Chapman, Bonnie J. Lacroix, andDouglas
A. Powell*
Food Safety Network, Department of Plant Agriculture, University
of Guelph, Guelph ON N1G 2W1 Canada
SUMMARY
Consumers receive information on food preparation from a variety of sources.
Numerous studies conducted over the past six years demonstrate that television
is one of the primary sources for North Americans. This research reports on
an examination and categorization of messages that television food and cooking
programs provide to viewers about preparing food safely. During June 2002 and
2003, television food and cooking programs were recorded and reviewed, using
a defined list of food safety practices based on criteria established by Food
Safety Network researchers. Most surveyed programs were shown on Food Network
Canada, a specialty cable channel. On average, 30 percent of the programs
viewed were produced in Canada, with the remainder produced in the United States
or United Kingdom. Sixty hours of content analysis revealed that the programs
contained a total of 916 poor food-handling incidents. When negative food handling
behaviors were compared to positive food handling behaviors, it was found that
for each positive food handling behavior observed, 13 negative behaviors were
observed. Common food safety errors included a lack of hand washing, cross-contamination
and time-temperature violations. While television food and cooking programs
are an entertainment source, there is an opportunity to improve their content
so as to promote safe food handling.
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