2005 Food Quality Award

The Q7 not only provides real-time PCR, but also multiple dye detection and quantitative species differentiation.

“The alliance is focused on developing new products together,” Mrozinski told Food Quality. “There is a need to not just detect, but to determine just how much is there and to do that with new molecular methods means developing technologies, from Applied Biosystems, for the food market.”

Aside from needed emerging technologies, food safety is only as good as one’s employees, says Disney’s Yiannas.

Yiannas is responsible for Disney’s theme parks, cruise ships, hundreds of food locations and suppliers. He and his staff altered the culture among Disney’s numerous food service organizations to embrace the food safety and quality ethics of HACCP. In fact, Disney’s 55,000 food service workers are referred to as “cast members” in the important and never-ending role of food safety.

“Culture is one of those terms that are very important to food safety,” he says, adding that, first and foremost, employees need to know exactly what food safety is and share the responsibility.

“Saying, ‘Food safety begins with me,’ doesn’t tell them what they have to do,” he says.

Employees, Yiannas explains, need to clearly know what is required for food safety. They must also be trained and educated. For example, they must understand the simple concept of regular hand-washing and how important it is to food safety. Yiannas also stressed the importance of establishing and enforcing a food safety communication plan.

“Our goal is to have zero violations and zero tolerance for food safety violations,” he adds, saying a shift from food safety accountability to responsibility will ensure greater compliance.

Billy, of International Food Safety Consultants, and Bracket, CFSAN’s director, echoed Yiannas’ sentiments.

Billy heralded the importance of Codex, an international public health and food safety coalition that he chairs. The goal of Codex, he explained, is to establish a cohesive, global approach to food safety issues of the new millennium. Likewise, Bracket spoke about evolving programs and policies for the composition, quality, safety and labeling of foods, color additive, dietary supplements and cosmetics.