What the Future Holds

The issue of unsafe food sources has grown in recent years, concurrent with the significant increase in foods being imported from other countries (see Table 1 for a listing of some recent food-borne illness outbreaks associated with imported foods).

According to news reports, since the U.S. Homeland Security Department took over responsibility for inspecting imported agricultural products from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, fewer inspections are being conducted. In fact, the Center for Science in the Public Interest notes that only about two percent of imported produce and seafood gets inspected. Most border inspections are visual; food is rarely tested in a lab for contamination. Trace back of food products to sources can take weeks or months. The fresh-cut produce industry is particularly vulnerable because of the complex chain of custody from packing houses through distribution to the retailer or restaurant.

As the global marketplace continues to evolve, buyers, regulators and suppliers will increasingly depend on standards and conformity assessment to ensure that products and services fulfill specified requirements. This is where independent GMP audits come into play. Many food retailers (grocers and restaurants) have asked for such audits of their suppliers for the past few years. And now, food processors and distributors have begun to request and conduct GMP audits on their own as they seek to implement voluntary standardization and conformity assessment programs.

Emerging Pathogens

In the first half of the 20th century, the primary food-borne illnesses of concern to humans were botulism, salmonellosis and staphylococcal food poisoning. By the last quarter of the century, new foodborne pathogens had emerged, including campylobacter jenjuni, shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes and cyclospora cayetanensis. Some of these emerging microorganisms are resistant to an ever wider spectrum of antibiotics – perhaps as a result of the overuse of antibiotics.

Listeria is unique because it grows at refrigeration temperatures. It can cause flu-like symptoms and also serious illnesses such as meningitis and is especially dangerous for the very young and very old, and causes miscarriages in pregnant women.

E. coli is commonly transmitted through ground meats and can cause severe illness, and even death. Fortunately, cases of E. coli have declined 42 percent since 1998, according to a recently-issued CDC report, which noted that cases of E. coli 0157 infections are below the national “Healthy People 2010” health goal. Illnesses associated with Listeria and Campylobacter have also declined.

Instead of small, isolated cases of food-borne illness, these bacteria have been linked to large, multi-state outbreaks in recent years. The first of this is widely acknowledged to be the 1993 fast food chain outbreak in which E. Coli 0157:H7 found in hamburger was linked to 700 illnesses and four deaths across four states. Other incidents have included a 2000 outbreak of Norwalk-like virus found in pasta salad that sickened 333 people across 13 states and a 1999 Listeria outbreak associated with lunch meats that killed 21 people and sickened manyothers in at least 11 states.

A New Breed of Food Safety Audits

While there will always be a great need for food safety audits at the retail level, the globalization of our food supply chain, coupled with factors such as bioterrorism, the need to control feed, a herd strategy in the light of BSE, and the emergence of interest in genetically modified foods, has shifted the focus upstream in the farm-to-fork continuum.

In the early 1980s, processor audits tended to focus on facility sanitation issues. In the 1990s, the production process became a bigger focus, with the emergence of HACCP standards. Now, in the 21st century, processor audits have evolved into GMP and Total Quality Systems audits, where every process within a food processing facility is evaluated. GMP-level audits must also cover every opportunity for contamination – from delivery of ingredients and packaging materials at the processor location through trace back of outbound shipping to warehouse and retail locations.