Food Safety Comes Naturally to Arkansas

“ASCENT addresses food biosecurity and cybersecurity, and it is innovative in that it links food safety to big data,” Dr. Ricke relates. “As more data is generated from whole genome sequencing of foodborne pathogens from food and other sources, the ability to not only process that data for in-depth analyses but protect such data from external cyber threats becomes critical. Part of ASCENT’s goal is to work with industry to tackle these issues and also provide the training tools for the next generation of UA graduates that work in the food industry.”

“For the first time, we are leveraging tools from the engineering and computer science space to address food security challenges,” adds Chase Rainwater, PhD, a UA associate professor of industrial engineering and co-director of ASCENT. “The amount of data available to analysts in the food domain is both intimidating and exciting. It is pivotal that the food industry brings in the best tools to learn from this information. Students from engineering have already benefited from partnering with Dr. Ricke’s lab and the solutions we are developing in the machine learning space will be of interest to a number of players in the industry.”

The CFS is a key strength of food safety programs and initiatives in Arkansas, concurs Harrison Pittman, JD, LLM, director of the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC). (Also see, www.agandfoodlaw.com), also based at UA’s main campus in Fayetteville.

“In conducting research on both safety and quality of foods, the CFS not only serves stakeholders and consumers but also provides a platform for interdisciplinary research and outreach with faculty and others in the UA system and beyond,” Pittman says. “Arkansas also stands out nationally in this area because of the Arkansas Food Innovation Center (AFIC). AFIC works with food entrepreneurs in developing value-added products, which specifically includes ongoing workshops and programs that address food safety.”

According to Pittman, the NALC, which is touted as “the nation’s leading source for agricultural and food law research and information,” works closely with colleagues in the CFS and AFIC. “The NALC provides objective educational outreach on issues such as states’ cottage food law, FSMA, and related legal liability concerns,” he explains. “One recent example is the “Plan. Produce. Profit” workshop series led by AFIC, which includes multi-day training and development from idea concept to market realization for food entrepreneurs.”

Collaboration is the primary strength of food safety programs for Arkansas, says John Marcy, PhD, CFS, professor and poultry processing Extension specialist, as well as graduate program coordinator of the UA Poultry Science Department.

For starters, he relates, UA is a strong partner of the Arkansas Agriculture Department, noting that, along with poultry and rice, Arkansas is also a major producer of fruit and vegetables.

“Anyone who has the latest and greatest idea for food safety will almost always find a path to Northwest Arkansas to talk to both processors and retailers,” Dr. Marcy points out. “Having Walmart, the world’s largest retailer and purveyor of food here, also means there is a spotlight on the safety of things grown in Arkansas. For example, when CDC comes to Bentonville to talk about the safety of poultry, everyone listens.” Dr. Marcy is referring to the occasion when experts from CDC came to Walmart’s headquarters in 2013 to talk about Salmonella in poultry and to solicit the company’s help in creating a way to drive it down (similar to actions taken a few years earlier regarding E. coli O157:H7 in beef).

“On February 5, 2014, Walmart hosted a Poultry Safety Summit for domestic and international poultry, retail, regulatory, and academic stakeholders,” Dr. Marcy relates. “In December 2014, Walmart announced their food safety requirements for all of their poultry suppliers. At the 2016 annual meeting of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) in St. Louis, Walmart’s vice president of food safety, Frank Yiannas, announced that their own testing indicated that chicken parts were now at a two percent Salmonella rate, which is a dramatic reduction.”