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The Distinguished Service Award was given to Frank Busta, Ph.D. this morning to kick off the 2021 Food Safety Summit.

Busta is the director emeritus of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD; now Food Protection & Defense Institute) and Professor Emeritus of food microbiology at the University of Minnesota.

Frank Busta, Ph.D.

He was named the first director of NCFPD in 2004. Previously, he held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota, North Carolina State University and the University of Florida. He served as chair of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition from 1984 to 1987 at the University of Florida and head of the Department of Food Science & Nutrition, University of Minnesota, from 1987 to 1997.

Busta’s research areas are in food safety, growth and survival of microorganisms after environmental stress in food, microbial ecology, and food defense. He has published more than 125 refereed research papers. He has served as Chief Technology adviser on a UNDP project in China on agri-processing within the WTO framework. He retired in 2002 from the International Commission on the Microbiological Specifications for Food after 15 years of service.

Busta is a fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM), of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST, in the UK), of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and of the Academy of the International Union of Food Science and Technology.

He received the IAFP Honorary Life Membership Award in 2009 and gave the Silliker Lecture at IAFP in 2015. He received the IFT Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and the Myron Solberg Award from IFT in 2017.

He chaired the Food Forum of the Institute of Medicine in the National Academies from 2011 to 2014. He was president of IFT in 1995–1996. Dr. Busta served as Senior Science adviser to NCFPD from 2007 to 2014. He is a Certified Food Scientist (IFT), a Registered Scientist (IFST), and a Registered Specialist in Food, Dairy, and Sanitation Microbiology (National Registry of Microbiologists, AAM). He received his B.A. and M.Sc. from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

The Food Safety Magazine Distinguished Service Award, established in 2003, honors individuals who best exemplify the characteristics of the dedicated food safety professional. Those honored are recognized by members of the profession for their collective works in promoting or advancing science-based solutions for food safety issues.

Past recipients of the award include Reginald Bennett, M.Sc., Dane Bernard, M.Sc., Larry Beuchat, Ph.D., Robert L. Buchanan, Ph.D., John N. Butts, Ph.D., Darin Detwiler, Ph.D., Keith Ito, Allen Katsuyama, Connie Kirby, M.Sc., John W. Larkin, Ph.D., Huub Lelieveld, Barbara Masters, D.V.M., Ann Marie McNamara, Ph.D., Theodora Morille-Hinds, M.Sc., William Sperber, Ph.D., Steve Taylor, Ph.D., David Theno, Ph.D., Bruce Tompkin, Ph.D., and Don L. Zink, Ph.D.

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contriuted Opinion

On Wednesday, Jan. 20, I sat through a few meetings, delivered a presentation on food safety labeling, and was interviewed for a podcast on food safety. All of this work took place at my home as we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, I joined much of the nation as my attention was also drawn to a second monitor with the live coverage of the inauguration of Joe Biden as our 46th president.

In the middle of the interview, I could not help but acknowledge to the podcast hosts my sense of déjà vu — this day was eerily similar to that of 1993.

On Tuesday, Jan. 12, 1993, the University of Washington and Seattle’s Children’s Hospital filed a report with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) about a perceived cluster of children with bloody diarrhea and Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) likely caused by E.coli O157:H7. By that Friday, reportings increased rapidly to 40 cases of young victims being admitted to local hospitals and being airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Seattle. Within 24 hours, the DOH had enough information from victims and families that allowed them to develop suspicion of contaminated hamburger patties sold at a chain of fast food restaurants as a potential source.

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would soon identify potentially related cases in California, Oregon, British Columbia Canada, and Nevada. By Monday, Jan. 18, 1993, DOH officials went public with an announcement about the source of theE.coli O157:H7 outbreak at a news conference that took place during that year’s Martin Luther King holiday weekend. After that press conference, executives at Jack in the Box — the identified fast food restaurant chain — agreed to stop serving hamburgers and quarantine their meat.

Two days later, on Jan. 20, 1993 — the day of President Bill Clinton’s inauguration — a powerful storm ravaged the Puget Sound area, which includes Seattle and King County, knocking out the power for hundreds of thousands of residents across three counties, leaving many homes and restaurants without power for refrigeration or cooking, and even leaving them without water for washing hands for a few days. Health officials tracked how many people were sick in an effort to determine if the outbreak was getting worse or if it had reached its peak. Data would later show that the peak took place between the dates of the DOH announcement of the source of the outbreak and the middle of the storm.

Dr. John Kobayashi, then a lead epidemiologist for Washington State, recalls that period of concern:

“The amount of conversations with the federal level at that time was enormous. It was very clear that we were not just dealing with a regional outbreak, that we were dealing with a national problem. And when things change from a regional outbreak to a national outbreak, it makes life a lot more complicated. But you also had the complication of the person-to-person infections. And that was a big concern.” (From my book “FOOD SAFETY: Past, Present, and Predictions,” 2020.)

By this time, the news of the 45 infected children who required hospitalization, 38 of whom suffered serious kidney problems and 21 required dialysis, found their place in the headlines and on the evening news.

Riley Detwiler

Only days after taking the oath of office, President Bill Clinton discussed the ongoing food safety situation on a live, televised “Town Meeting,” talking directly to live audiences in Detroit, Miami, and Seattle. The Seattle ABC affiliate invited me, as the father of 16-month-old Riley Detwiler, and Riley’s mother to attend the Town Meeting and tell the president about our son, listed in critical condition — sick with E.coli  — in Seattle Children’s Hospital. In his response, President Clinton stated that “We can do more (meat) inspections in a more effective way, hire more inspectors, and do a better job. We can empower the inspectors to do more things.”

President Clinton flew out to Seattle and intended to visit my son, Riley.  While en route, the president was informed of my son’s death, as Riley would be the fourth and final child to die in this landmark E.coli outbreak. President Clinton called me from Air Force One, expressing his condolences, his emotional reaction, and personal thoughts as a father. His words comforted me while inspiring me to continue being a father to my son through advocacy, education, and policy support.

By the time the outbreak was determined to be over, the E.coli contaminated meat had infected 732 people across California, Idaho, Washington and Nevada, with the majority of cases in Washington State. The pathogen killed four children and left 178 other victims with permanent injury including kidney and brain damage. The outbreak involved 73 restaurants of the fast food chain across four states.

Today, most news outlets put COVID-19 pandemic data at the top of the page or side of the screen — numbers of confirmed illnesses and numbers of deaths. As these numbers increase we must not forget that these also reflect the numbers of families whose lives may never return to normal and those families who will live with a chair forever empty at the family table.

Similar to President Clinton in 1993, President Biden’s call for unity during his inauguration must not be seen by us as purely political. Unity is found in our vulnerability as well as in our resolve. Unity is part of the Herculean effort needed to end this pandemic and to overcome our many challenges ahead.

About the author: Darin Detwiler, LP.D., M.A.Ed., is the founder and CEO of Detwiler Consulting Group LLC. He is also the assistant dean at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies and the lead faculty of the Master of Science in Regulatory Affairs of Food and Food Industries. He is an internationally recognized and respected food policy expert with more than 25 years’ experience in shaping federal food policy, consulting with corporations, and contributing thought leadership to industry events and publications, advising industry, NGOs, and government agencies, and addressing food safety and authenticity issues in the U.S. and abroad. In 2018, Detwiler received the International Association for Food Protection’s Distinguished Service Award. Detwiler is the author of FOOD SAFETY: Past, Present, and Predictions (Elsevier, 2020); and Building the Future of Food Safety Technology (Elsevier, 2020).

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Warmer weather is here and with it comes summer holidays and opportunities to eat together. In June, we celebrate the fathers and father figures that raised us. Stop Foodborne Illness wants fathers everywhere to know that whether you’re working the grill, preparing the salad, or pouring a refreshing drink, being food safe is as important as making sure everything tastes great.

Foodborne illness can really wreck a party, so we’re asking dads everywhere to brush up on their food safety knowledge. “It can happen to anyone,” says Mitzi Baum, CEO of Stop Foodborne Illness. “We are all susceptible to the dangerous foodborne pathogens that cause 3,000 people to die each year with another 128,000 hospitalized. Many continue to suffer from on-going consequences including heart disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal and stress disorders long after their illness is over.”

 On our website, Stop Foodborne Illness features an honor wall, where we share the stories behind the statistics. You can read first-hand accounts of both survivors and those that succumbed to foodborne illness, including the following two stories:

Ken
Lives can be forever altered by the sudden and confusing experience of foodborne illness. Thankfully, this father lived to tell the tale. In 2011, Ken was handling raw hamburger meat, making dinner for himself and some friends. After two days of continuous vomiting and diarrhea, Ken noticed blood in his stools. At the urging of his doctor, Ken immediately went to the ER, where he was given three liters of IV fluids, and the doctors ran some tests. Two days later, the hospital had results: Salmonella. Ken was prescribed a week of antibiotics, which began his slow recovery. With help from the Maine Center for Disease Control and the 13 other cases that had arisen in nearby states, Ken determined the origin of the infection. It was a three-pound bag of ground beef, of which he had handled and cooked only one pound.

“I know we’re all here for a limited time, so I was never afraid of dying. My kids have seen me go through a lot. I keep a positive attitude to show them how to keep your balance, even through adversity. I’ve always taught them to live each day the best they can.” Ken’s children have seen him battle a monster. But, “I am still here,” he says, “and I still have the opportunity to live and put a smile on people’s faces.” Ken believes that when we come together to help one another, that’s when life is best. “My children are living happy and successful lives, and I’d like to think I had a hand in that.” Despite the trauma he experienced, he is determined to keep a balanced life and pass on a message of positivity and perseverance. Read Ken’s full story here.

Riley
Riley was 16 months old in 1993, when an E. coli outbreak dominated the news in the Pacific Northwest. Because Riley had never eaten hamburger and wouldn’t anytime soon, his dad was more concerned about his nine-year-old brother. That did not matter, however, as Riley became ill not from directly eating food contaminated with a foodborne pathogen, but because of person-to-person contamination — from another child in his daycare who was sick with E. coli. Only 23 days after he became infected with E.coli and later developed HUS – requiring dialysis, exploratory surgery removing a large part of his intestines, and being placed in a medically induced coma — Riley died from a massive brain hemorrhage and multiple organ failure. “Seeing two men carrying my young son in a white coffin on a cold February morning is an image that is forever burned into my memory. That coffin was far smaller than a coffin should ever be,” says Darin, Riley’s father.

After Riley passed, Darin refused to let his son’s death be in vain.

He became an advocate for food safety, along with parents like himself, helping the government make food safer. Over the next five years, Darin was speaking, writing, and working as a consultant to the USDA’s Pathogen Reduction Program. This experience led him, when he started teaching high school history, math and science, to bring this message with him. During his teaching years, he was certified by the FDA as a Food Science Educator and presented before legislators, industry, national organizations, and consulted with and was featured in numerous print and broadcast media. After 15 years of classroom teaching, Darin left his job and moved to the East Coast to pursue his desire to work in some capacity to prevent others from suffering from foodborne illness.

For two years, he was the senior policy coordinator for Stop Foodborne Illness. Meanwhile, he conducted and defended his doctoral research on states’ ability to implement federal food policies. Today, he is a professor of food policy, lead faculty of a regulatory affairs of a graduate program in food, and an assistant dean at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. And he is the author of two recently published books, “Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions” and “Building the Future of Food Safety Technology: Blockchain and Beyond.”

Darin believes that focusing one’s energy solely on the failures in the past is neither healthy nor sustainable. He says, “Supporting and inspiring those who act to prevent future failures can bring about immeasurable rewards. Our world needs these voices and their passion to help inspire the changes we all need. My drive has been to create a future where fewer families live with a chair forever empty at the dinner table.”

“I lost my son, yes.  But my son did not lose his father.”

  By focusing on inspiring the future generations of food safety heroes, Darin finds incredible fulfillment, but, more importantly, he also finds peace in those opportunities to still be a father to his son.

 About the organization: Based in Chicago, Stop Foodborne Illness is a national nonprofit public health organization whose mission is to support and engage people directly impacted by foodborne illness and mobilize them to help prevent illness and death by driving change through advocacy, collaboration, and innovation. https://stopfoodborneillness.org/

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Opinion

For those of you who read these fine pages of Food Safety News produced by Dan, Coral, Joe, Jonan, Cookson, and our many contributors on a daily basis for the past 10 years, I try not — well, at least not too often — to interject my legal side with my publisher side.

Here is an exception – Marler Clark needs help.

Well, more precisely, consumers of food around the world need help.

Since 2017 there been more than 500 people in the U.S. and Canada who have suffered E. coli O157:H7 illnesses linked to leafy greens grown in the U.S.  Of these, nearly 200 have been hospitalized with 50 suffering hemolytic uremic syndrome (acute kidney failure known as HUS).  There have been seven reported deaths.

Setting aside why outbreaks — no more romaining calm — are happening with frightening frequency and why so many of the illnesses seem so particularly brutal, the fact is that people, many children and the vulnerable, need legal advocacy.

So, here is my pitch:  If you have been out of law school 2 to 5 years, send your cover letter, resume and writing sample to bmarler@marlerclark.com or bclark@marlerclark.com.  You must be willing to relocate to Seattle.

I am not looking for someone who wants just a job.  I am looking for someone who is willing to think of this not as a job, but more of a calling.  I want someone who will happily work beside some of the finest lawyers, doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, paralegals, experts and staff in the food safety business.  We are dedicated to our clients 24/7/365 and I expect applicants to feel the same.  This is NOT a 9 to 5 gig.

I recently was asked to write a Forward to a book on food safety for someone I greatly admire.  I think if these words do not inspire you, you do not need to send an application.

Forward

Riley

I never met Riley.  However, I have a vivid memory after almost twenty-seven years of his tiny white casket flashing across the front page of the Seattle papers and the evening news.  I remember the picture of Riley that Darin carries – a smiling toddler about to do mischief.

Riley’s life was a life cut short by a deadly pathogen that had been too long ignored by government and industry, and virtually unknown to consumers.  In 1993 we all thought hamburgers were the all-American meal, not a recipe for death.

Riley and my daughter, Morgan, would have graduated from High School in 2010 and both been twenty-eight this year.  For Darin, instead of twenty-eight years of memories and a future with a grown child, he has photos and videos of a forever young Riley and faded clippings of the public’s view of Riley’s agonizing death and the pain on his parent’s faces.

It is not without an anguished honor that I realize that the beginning of my life’s work is forever linked to Riley’s death and the deaths of Lauren Rudolph, Michael Nole and Celina Shribbs, and the devastating life-long illnesses of so many others caused by E. coli O157:H7, including Brianne Kiner, who was hospitalized for several months after Riley died a few hospital rooms away.

In the intervening years there have sadly been  too many other Riley’s and Brianne’s.  I have done what I could to help those families impacted by E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria and other foodborne pathogens.  I have done what I could to change government and industry behavior by using the levers of the legal system.  However, regardless how passionate I might be at times to be “put out of business,” it pales to what Darin Detwiler has done in the memory of his son.

As a lawyer, I have seen what can happen to a parent of a child that dies or has life-long complications caused be a pathogen like E. coli.   Understandably, many never recover or simply cope by ignoring the pain.  Few, like Darin, stare directly at the pain, embrace it, learn from it and teach us from it.  Every word of this book written by Riley’s father carries a bit of Riley in every sentence, page and chapter.  This book is important.  Thank you Darin for writing it and thank you Riley for inspiring it.

No more to be said.

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The International Association for Food Protection has opened nominations for its 2019 awards. The categories range from the Black Pearl Award for corporate excellence in food safety to travel scholarships for food safety students who want to attend the IAFP annual conference in July.

You are not required to be an association (IAFP) member to submit nominations for most of the awards. Nominations for all awards, unless otherwise indicated below, are due by Feb. 19 and must be completed through the FluidReview website at http://www.iafp.fluidreview.com.

The association encourages its members to apply for the travel expense awards for employees of state or provincial health or agricultural departments in North America. There is also IAFP travel award for food safety professionals in a country with a developing economy to attend the IAFP annual meeting and conference.

Student travel scholarship criteria is available on the IAFP students’ page. Instructions to apply for each award are included in the criteria for the respective award. Awards scheduled to be presented in 2019 are:

Black Pearl Award – Presented in recognition of a company’s outstanding achievement in corporate excellence in food safety and quality. Sponsored by F&H Food Equipment Co. 2018 Recipient: Eurofins Scientific Inc.

Fellows Award – Presented to member(s) who have contributed to IAFP and its affiliates with distinction over an extended period of time. 2018 Recipient: Loralyn H. Ledenbach, Ruth L. Petran.

President’s Lifetime Achievement Award – Given at the discretion of the IAFP president to recognize an individual who has made a lasting impact on advancing food safety worldwide through a lifetime of professional achievement in food protection. 2018 Recipient: Jenny Scott.

Honorary Life Membership Award – Recognizes IAFP members for their dedication to the high ideals and objectives of the association and for dedicated service to the association. 2018 Recipients: P. Michael Davidson, Michael P. Doyle, Steven C. Murphy, Terence Peters, Kathleen T. Rajkowski.

Harry Haverland Citation – Includes $2,500 honorarium and is presented to an individual for years of devotion to the ideals and objectives of IAFP. Sponsored by Eurofins. 2018 Recipient: Vickie J. Lewandowski.

Food Safety Innovation Award – Includes $2,500 honorarium and is presented to an individual or organization for creating a new idea, practice, or product that has had a positive impact on food safety, thus, improving public health, and the quality of life. Sponsored by Walmart Food Safety Collaboration Center. 2018 Recipient: QualMap

International Leadership Award – Includes $2,000 honorarium and reimbursement to attend IAFP 2019 and is presented to an individual for dedication to the high ideals and objectives of IAFP and for promotion of the mission of the association in countries outside of the United States and Canada. Sponsored by Cargill Inc. 2018 Recipient: Roy Biggs.

GMA Food Safety Award – Includes $2,000 honorarium. This award alternates between individuals and groups or organizations. This year the award will be presented to a group or organization for highly significant food safety development or in recognition of a long history of outstanding contributions to food safety. Sponsored by GMA. 2018 Recipient: Jenny Scott

Frozen Food Foundation Freezing Research Award – Includes $2,000 honorarium and is presented to an individual, group or organization for preeminence and outstanding contributions in research that impacts food safety attributes of freezing. Sponsored by Frozen Food Foundation. 2018 Recipient: Donald W. Schaffner

Food Safety Magazine Distinguished Service – Honors individuals who best exemplify the characteristics of the dedicated food safety professional. Beyond high-profile individuals, nominees can be anyone who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, profoundly impacting food safety around them. Those honored are recognized by members of the profession for their collective works in promoting or advancing science-based solutions for food safety issues. Recipients are chosen by the award committee of Food Safety Magazine. Recommendations can be submitted to the committee via award@foodsafetymagazine.com. Please include a bio of the nominee, as well as a description of  why the nominee is deserving of this award. Sponsored by Food Safety Magazine. 2018 Recipient: Darin Detwiler.

Maurice Weber Laboratorian Award – Includes $2,000 honorarium and is presented to an individual for outstanding contributions in the laboratory, recognizing a commitment to the development of innovative and practical analytical approaches in support of food safety. Sponsored by Weber Scientific. 2018 Recipient: Manan Sharma.

Larry Beuchat Young Researcher Award – Includes $2,000 honorarium and is presented to a young researcher who has shown outstanding ability and professional promise in the early years of their career. Sponsored by: bioMérieux Inc. 2018 Recipient: Xiangyu Deng.

Ewen C.D. Todd Control of Foodborne Illness Award – Includes $1,500 honorarium and is presented to an individual for dedicated and exceptional contributions to the reduction of risks to foodborne illness. Sponsored by: Marler Clark Attorneys at Law. 2018 Recipient: Barbara Buck Kowalcyk

Sanitarian Award – Includes $1,500 honorarium and is presented to an individual for outstanding service to the public, to IAFP, and to the profession of the sanitarian. Sponsored by: Sponsored by Ecolab Inc. 2018 Recipient: Connie M. Freese.

Educator-Industry Award – In 1982, this award was split into the Educator Award and the Industry Awards. 1981 Recipient: Francis F. Busta.

Elmer Marth Educator Award – Includes $1,500 honorarium and is presented to an individual for outstanding service to the public, to IAFP and to the arena of education in food safety and food protection. Sponsored by: Nelson-Jameson Inc. 2018 Recipient: Trevor Vincent Suslow.

Harold Barnum Industry Award – Includes $1,500 honorarium and is presented to an individual for outstanding service to the public, IAFP and the food industry. Sponsored by: NSF International. 2018 Recipient: Pamela Wilger.

Ivan Parkin Lecturers – The Ivan Parkin Lecture was established by IAFP in 1986 to honor individuals who have had a significant impact on the field of food safety. Each year a prominent food safety leader is selected to deliver the Ivan Parkin Lecture at the Opening Session of IAFP’s Annual Meeting. The association established the lecture award to honor Ivan Parkin, a Dairy Extension Specialist at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Parkin was IAFP president in 1955 and he remained active in the association for many years following his presidency. Dr. Parkin served as an example to others as a loyal member, a professional, and an educator dedicated to protecting the food supply. The Ivan Parkin Lecturer is selected by the IAFP president-elect and approved by the executive board. 2018 Recipient: Gary R. Acuff.

John H. Silliker Lecturers – The John H. Silliker Lecture was established by Silliker Inc., now Merieux NutriSciences, in 2004 to recognize the achievements of Dr. Silliker through the practical application of scientific principles to improve food protection. The John H. Silliker Lecture provides an avenue for recognized experts to present important and timely information on topics of significance to food protection at the IAFP Annual Meeting. Dr. Silliker established Silliker Laboratories in 1967 and grew the network of laboratories to more than 70 locations in 18 countries. Dr. Silliker was committed to making meaningful contributions to food safety outside the confines of his laboratory. He was an early proponent of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system; developed the revolutionary concept of using sponges to collect environmental samples in food plants; and testified at congressional hearings that resulted in the passage of landmark food safety legislation. The John H. Silliker Lecturer is selected by a committee including a representative from Merieux NutriSciences, the program committee chairperson, and the IAFP president. 2018 Recipient: Ann Marie McNamara.

Travel Award for Food Safety Professionals in a Country with a Developing Economy – Presented to food safety professionals working full-time in the field of food safety in a country with a developing economy. Sponsored by: Sponsored by the IAFP Foundation.
2018 Recipients: Abiodun-Solanke AyoJesutomi, Fernanda Bovo Campagnollo, Mauricio A. Redondo-Solano.

Travel Award for State or Provincial Health or Agricultural Department Employees – Presented to state or provincial health or agricultural department employees including epidemiologists, food and molecular microbiologists, and environmental health specialists working in North America. Sponsored by: Sponsored by the IAFP Foundation. 2018 Recipients: Luisa F. Castro, Jason J. Crowe, Pongpan Laksanalamai, Jessica Laurent, Danielle Wroblewski.

Student Travel Scholarship – IAFP recognizes that students from around the world are the future leaders in the field of food safety. Since 2004, the IAFP Foundation has been dedicated to enhancing the career potential of exceptional students through the annual IAFP Student Travel Scholarship Program. Sponsored by: The IAFP Foundation. 2018 Recipienst: Abimbola E. Allison, Xiaoqiong Cao, Vijay Singh Chhetri, Anna Colavecchio, Daniel F. M. do Monte, Angela Marie C. Ferelli, Mohammad Ruzlan Habib, Anna Sophia Harrand, Shoukui He, Kento Koyama, Luyao Ma, Robyn C. Miranda, Zahra H. Mohammad, Thabang Nora Msimango, Flavia Negrete, Loandi Richter, Varalakshmi S, Joyjit Saha, Carla Schwan, Katarina Simunovic.

Peanut Proud Student Scholarship Award – The Peanut Proud Student Scholarship Award Provides a $2,000 academic scholarship and travel funding for a U.S. graduate student in the field of food microbiology – and specifically in the area of and peanut butter food safety – to attend the Annual Meeting. Peanut Proud is a nonprofit industry organization based in Georgia. Sponsored by: Peanut Proud. 2018 Recipient: Mengfei Peng

J.Mac Geopfert Developing Scientists Awards – Presented to currently enrolled students or recent graduates in the field of food safety research at accredited universities or colleges. Qualified individuals may enter either the technical or poster competition. Sponsored by: The IAFP Foundation. 2018 Recipient: Please see detail page for expanded list of recipients.

Undergraduate Student Award Competition – Presented to two undergraduate students at accredited universities or colleges who have entered this poster competition, based on the criteria. Sponsored by: Supported by the IAFP Foundation. Please click here to see detail page of recipients.

President’s Recognition Awards – This award is given at the discretion of the IAFP President to recognize an individual(s) for special effort, project, and contribution of time or expertise that resulted in the betterment of IAFP. 2018 Recipient: Farrah Benge, Jen Feeney, Lisa Hovey, Ron Schmidt.

C. B. Shogren Memorial Award – Includes $500 honorarium and is presented to the IAFP Affiliate association demonstrating exceptional overall achievement in promoting the mission of the International Association for Food Protection, which is “to provide food safety professionals worldwide with a forum to exchange information on protecting the food supply.” 2018 Recipient: Florida Association for Food Protection

Samuel J. Crumbine Award – From 1955 to 1966 two awards were given: the first for general environmental health, the second for food protection. From 1968 to 1973, the award was suspended because of a general lack of innovation in food protection programs during that period. Application deadline for this award is March 15. For more information, go to: www.crumbineaward.com. Sponsored by: The Conference for Food Protection (CFP), in cooperation with the American Academy of Sanitarians, American Public Health Association, Association of Food and Drug Officials, Foodservice Packaging Institute, International Association for Food Protection, National Association of County & City Health Officials, National Environmental Health Association, and NSF International. 2018 Recipient: Maricopa County Arizona Environmental Services Department.

John N. Sofos Most-cited JFP Research and Review Publication Awards – These awards were established to recognize top researchers and high-quality research publications and reviews that contribute to the impact of JFP and the field of food safety. The awards are based upon the number of citations of a work by others for papers published five years prior. They are presented by the JFP Scientific co-editors at the Editorial Board Reception at the IAFP Annual Meeting.

Research Paper and Review Paper – Previous recipients and details available here. 

JFP Most-downloaded Publication Award – This award recognizes the most-downloaded Journal of Food Protection piece based on data from the JFP website. The award is presented by the JFP Scientific co-editors at the Editorial Board Reception each year at the IAFP Annual Meeting. 2018 Recipients: Dane A. Jensen, David R. Macinga, David J. Shumaker, Roberto Bellino, James W. Arbogast, and Donald W. Schaffner. “Quantifying the Effects of Water Temperature, Soap Volume, Lather Time, and Antimicrobial Soap as Variables in the Removal of Escherichia coli ATCC 11229 from Hands.” J. Food Prot. 80:1022-1031.

IAFP European Symposium Student Travel Scholarship – The deadline for applications was Jan. 8. The recipients are scheduled to be informed of the final decision no later than Feb. 6. Two qualified students will attend the 2019 IAFP European Symposium on Food Safety, April 24-26 , in Nantes, France. Contributions to the IAFP Foundation help fund this scholarship to be awarded to two students residing in Europe and enrolled full-time in a college or university food safety-related degree program in Europe. Sponsored by: The IAFP Foundation. 2018 Recipients: Katrien Begyn, Giannis Koukkidis.

IAFP European Symposium Student Award Competition – Presented to two students at accredited universities or colleges who have entered this competition, based on the criteria.
Supported by the IAFP Foundation. 2018 Recipients: Technical – Lena Fritsch; Poster – Aurelien Maillet.

FPT Peer-Reviewed Research Most-downloaded Publication Award – This award has been established to recognize notable research publications and reviews that contribute to the impact of FPT and the field of food protection. The award is based upon the number of downloads for an FPT publication in the previous two years. The award is presented at the Editorial Board Reception. 2018 Recipients: Susan Arendt, Catherine Strobehn, and Jinhyun Jun for their work titled “Motivators and Barriers to Safe Food Practices: Observation and Interview” September to October 2015.

FPT Peer-Reviewed Research Most-viewed Publication Award – This award has been established to recognize notable research publications and reviews that contribute to the impact of FPT and the field of food protection. The award is based upon the number of views for an FPT publication in a given year. The award is presented at the Editorial Board Reception. 2018 Recipients: Robson A. M. Machado, Rama Radhakrishna and Catherine Cutter “Food Safety of Farmstead Cheese Processors in Pennsylvania: An Initial Needs Assessment”, March/April 2017.

FPT Peer-Reviewed Research Most-cited Publication Award – This award has been established to recognize notable research publications and reviews that contribute to the impact of FPT and the field of food protection. The award is based upon the number of citations for an FPT publication in the previous two years. The award is presented at the Editorial Board Reception.
2018 Recipients: Elizabeth A. Bihn, Christine D. Smart, Christine A. Hoepting and Randy W. Worobo for “Use of Surface Water in the Production of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: A Survey of Fresh Produce Growers and Their Water Management Practices” September-October 2013.

FPT Most Viewed General Interest Publication Award – This award has been established to recognize notable research publications and reviews that contribute to the impact of FPT and the field of food protection. The award is based upon the number of views for an FPT publication in the previous two years. The award is presented at the Editorial Board Reception. 2018 Recipient: Prevention of Hepatitis A through Food Handler Immunization, Jill C. Roberts May/June 2017.

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Stop Foodborne Illness, the national nonprofit public health organization dedicated to the prevention of illness and death from foodborne pathogens, Thursday announced a transition is underway for its top leadership job as a valued executive moves on.

Deirdre Schlunegger, who has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Stop Foodborne Illness since 2010, disclosed her forthcoming plans to retire from her position on May 31, 2019.

Until then, she will be working closely with the Chicago-based Stop Foodborne Illness Board to help identify her successor and assist with the transition to new leadership.

“Stop Foodborne Illness changed my life when they reached out in 2009 after I contracted E. coli O157: H7,” said Lauren Bush, Board Co-Chair of Stop Foodborne Illness. “Deirdre assumed leadership of the organization shortly thereafter, and we have worked together for nearly a decade elevating stories of impacted families like mine. I believe I speak for all the families of the Stop Foodborne Illness community when I say that Deirdre has a heart of gold and cares deeply for all of us. We sincerely thank her for nine years of dedicated service and unwavering commitment to making food safer for all of us.”

Working closely with Stop’s board of directors, Schlunegger will be actively involved in seeking out the most qualified candidates to replace her in this important role and will lead the transition process before she officially steps down.

“I am grateful for having the great privilege of working with many amazing people who have lived through significant trauma related to foodborne illness,” said Schlunegger. “They have made a difference in our world of food safety. I wish to thank Stop Foodborne Illness, its Board of Directors and its supporters for sustaining this important work.”

“Deirdre has been a steadfast leader and steward of Stop Foodborne Illness during a time of dynamic change for food safety and for Stop as an organization,” said Michael Taylor, Board Co-Chair and former FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine. “She will be leaving our organization stronger than she found it, for which all of us are enormously grateful.”

Schlunegger also has served as an advisory member of the Joint Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition (JIFSAN) and is a participating member of the Safe Food Coalition and the Make Our Food Safe Coalition. She serves as Commissioner of the International Food Science Certification Commission.

“She will be missed,” said Bill Marler, the nation’s most prominent attorney for victims of foodborne illness. “Her professionalism and caring in working with victims of foodborne illness helped make STOP the preeminent advocacy group helping protect the rights of food consumers in the Untied States.” Marler is also publisher of Food Safety News.

Darin Detwiler who lost his infant son to E. coli O157: H7 in the Jack-in-the-Box outbreak 25 years ago knows Stop Foodborne Illness both as the parent of a victim and later as the organization’s policy analyst.

Detwiler is now the assistant dean, the Lead Faculty of the MS in Regulatory Affairs of Food and Food Industry, and Professor of Food Policy at Northeastern University in Boston. He credits Schlunegger with leading Stop Foodborne Illness through a critical era of regulatory change.
Detwiler says in working alongside Schlunegger, how Stop has “some pretty big shoes to fill” as the work the organization does for victims and their families. He says it is a job that need real passion and isn’t something that can be fulfilled by “artificial intelligence.”

Before joining Stop Foodborne Illness, Schlunegger held the position of President & CEO of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oklahoma. Prior to that, she was Vice-President of Chapter Relations at Breast Cancer Network of Strength. Deirdre has served as the Executive Director of a Chicago organization addressing issues of domestic violence and led a national organization related to children and physical challenges.

Schlunegger graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies, completed a Child Life Internship at Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital, and completed a program in Nonprofit Management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Numerous leadership courses she has attended include the Wharton School of Business and the University of Chicago. She has completed a certificate program in conflict resolution, and she previously served on the Advisory Committee of the Chicago Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence.

Additionally, she has participated as a member of the Illinois Juvenile Court Domestic Violence Committee and was a Board Member of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Potential candidates for the top leadership position at Stop Foodborne Illness CEO can find information about the application process at http://bit.ly/2yY7vQt.

Stop Foodborne Illness Is Here to Help You
Stop Foodborne Illness is a national, nonprofit, public health organization dedicated to preventing illness and death from foodborne pathogens by promoting sound food safety policy and best practices, building public awareness and assisting those impacted by foodborne illness. For more food safety tips please visit www.stopfoodborneillness.org/awareness/. If you think you have been sickened from food, check this out and contact your local health professional.

For questions and personal assistance, please contact Stop Foodborne Illness’ Community Coordinator, Stanley Rutledge, at srutledge@stopfoodborneillness.org or 773-269-6555 x7. To donate to Stop, visit here.

Social Media:

Newsroom: ​​Newsline360.com/stopfoodborneillness

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SALT LAKE CITY — The International Association for Food Protection presented awards recognizing excellence in food safety to the following organizations and individuals during its annual meeting and conference this week at the Salt Palace Convention Center.  The annual IAFP event continues today.

 

BLACK PEARL  

Sponsored by F&H Food Equipment Company

Eurofins Scientific, Inc.

FELLOW 

Loralyn Ledenbach, Ruth Petran

PRESIDENT’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT 

Jenny Scott

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP  

Michael Davidson, Steve Murphy, Michael Doyle, Terry Peters, Kathleen Rajkowski,

HARRY HAVERLAND CITATION  

Sponsored by 3M Food Safety  

Vickie Lewandowski

FOOD SAFETY INNOVATION 

Sponsored by Walmart  

Mérieux NutriSciences

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP  

Sponsored by Cargill, Inc.  

Roy Biggs

GMA FOOD SAFETY  

Sponsored by Grocery Manufacturers Association  

Jenny Scott

FROZEN FOOD FOUNDATION FREEZING RESEARCH  

Sponsored by the Frozen Food Foundation 

Don Schaffner

FOOD SAFETY MAGAZINE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE 

Sponsored by Food Safety Magazine  

Darin Detwiler

MAURICE WEBER LABORATORIAN  

Sponsored by Weber Scientific  

Manan Sharma

LARRY BEUCHAT YOUNG RESEARCHER

Sponsored by bioMérieux  

Xiangyu Deng

EWEN C.D. TODD CONTROL OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS  

Sponsored by Marler Clark  

Barbara Kowalcyk

SANITARIAN  

Sponsored by Ecolab Inc.  

Connie Freese

ELMER MARTH EDUCATOR  

Sponsored by Nelson-Jameson, Inc.  

Trevor Suslow

HAROLD BARNUM INDUSTRY  

Sponsored by NSF International  

Pamela Wilger

TRAVEL AWARD FOR A FOOD SAFETY PROFESSIONAL IN A COUNTRY WITH A DEVELOPING ECONOMY 

Sponsored by IAFP and the IAFP Foundation  

AyoJesutomi Abiodun-Solanke, Fernanda Bovo Campagnollo, Mauricio Redondo-Solano

TRAVEL AWARD FOR STATE OR PROVINCIAL HEALTH OR AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES  

Sponsored by IAFP and the IAFP Foundation  

Luisa Castro, Pongpan Laksanalamai, Jason Crowe, Jessica Laurent, Danielle Wroblewski,

STUDENT TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP  

Sponsored by IAFP and the IAFP Foundation  

Abimbola Allison, Xiaoqiong Cao, Vijay Chhetri, Anna Colavecchio, Angela Ferelli, Mohammad Ruzlan Habib, Anna Sophia Harrand, Shoukui He, Kento Koyama, Luyao Ma, Robyn Miranda, Zahra Mohammad, Daniel Monte, Thabang Msimango, Flavia Negrete, Loandi Richter, Joyjit Saha, Carla Schwan, Katarina Simunovic, Varalakshmi Sudagar

PEANUT PROUD STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP

Sponsored by Peanut Proud  

Mengfei Peng

J. MAC GEOPFERT DEVELOPING SCIENTISTS

Sponsored by the IAFP Foundation  

To be determined

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT COMPETITION  

Sponsored by the IAFP Foundation  

To be determined

SAMUEL J. CRUMBINE  

Sponsored by the Conference for Food Protection, in cooperation with American Academy of Sanitarians, American Public Health Association, Association of Food & Drug Officials, Food Marketing Institute, Foodservice Packaging Institute, International Association for Food Protection, National Association of County and City Health Officials, National Environmental Health Association, and NSF International  

Maricopa County Environmental Services Department

Dave Theno Food Safety Fellowship Award

STOP Foodborne Illness

Emily Forauer

 

My friend, Darin Detwiler, let me post this for him tonight for tomorrow:

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the day the last of four young children died during the landmark 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak.

Riley Edward Detwiler

I learned about the reality of this foodborne pathogen on Riley’s deathbed. When he was only a few months old, I justified being out to sea on a Navy submarine by telling myself that I was making the world a safer place for him, and I thought that I would spend the rest of my life making up lost time with him when he was older.

Riley would now be older than I was during that outbreak.  I never got to see him grow older than he appears in the few photos and videos from so long ago. Over the years since his death, however, I have seen news of recalls and outbreaks and deaths on a far too regular basis. I have also seen much improvement in food safety.

We have gained new federal food safety regulations and policies at the USDA and, most recently at the FDA. We have witnessed advancements in science and data collection and even a whole new “culture of food safety.” We have training, certifications, university programs, conferences, magazines, books, and even movies that serve to inform and motivate new generations of food safety experts.

Many of the changes in food safety policies came about through the hard work of victims, families, advocacy groups and industry leaders. Statistics and charts alone achieve little without victim’s voices. Facts rarely motivate policymakers as much as seeing the faces and stories. I am very proud of their efforts. I am also proud to have stood with them and before them, trying to prevent other parents from looking at their family table with one chair forever empty due to preventable illnesses and deaths from foodborne pathogens.

One thing that hits me hard lately is how the faces and stories of victims from mass shootings are seemingly not enough to bring about change in terms of gun control. While no new policies will bring back the dead, they would bring hope and an increased safety for others. I am saddened by the thought that so many parents will live with the belief that their child’s death did not result in some element of change.

Perhaps the reasons matter not as to why parents worry about making the world a safer place for their children. Too many homes in this country include a chair forever empty at a family table due to reasons that could and should have been prevented.

—

Darin Detwiler Ph.D. is the assistant dean, the Lead Faculty of the MS in Regulatory Affairs of Food and Food Industry, and Professor of Food Policy at Northeastern University in Boston. In addition to serving as the executive vice president for public health at the International Food Authenticity Assurance Organization, he is the founder and president of Detwiler Consulting Group LLC. Detwiler and serves on numerous committees and advisory panels related to food science, nutrition, fraud, and policy. He is a sought-after speaker on key issues in food policy at corporate and regulatory training events, as well as national and international events. Detwiler holds a doctorate of Law and Policy.

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Billed as a discussion about the past, present and future of food safety, a panel presentation at the annual Food Safety Consortium revealed a timeless common denominator. Information.

Gathering it. Tabulating it. Recognizing that it is imperfect and relative. Reacting to it. And, finally, using it to act preemptively. The consortium’s Wednesday afternoon session at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL, returned to the significance of information time and time again

Panelists included a father who lost his son to the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak and representatives from government, industry, academia and food safety law. The perspectives from their various vantage points on the food safety space-time continuum consistently brought the discussion back to the power of information.

The Jack in the Box outbreak, which will be 25 years in the past with the coming of 2018, provided context for much of the discussion. Highlights from some of the panelists’ comments follow.

Ann Marie McNamara

Ann Marie McNamara is currently Target Corporation’s vice president for food safety. Two of her previous positions were director of the microbiology division in the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s office of public health and science from 1992-1999 and vice president for food safety for Jack in the Box from 2008-2017.

Her professional timeline traverses the spectrum on the Jack in the Box saga. When the outbreak was identified, she was at the top of the USDA’s food safety scientific staff. A few years later, she was responsible for the burger chain’s food safety program.

Gathering information wasn’t nearly as easy when the E. coli outbreak hit as it is now. McNamara said the four- to five-day wait for lab confirmation of E. coli infection was a big frustration during the outbreak when every hour mattered for children in intensive care units.

Darin Detwiler

Darin Detwiler, director of regulatory affairs of food and the food industry at  Northeastern University, lost his son during the Jack in the Box outbreak. In the ensuing years he has gathered information on all aspects of food safety, sharing it with students, members of Congress and pretty much anyone who would listen.

Among the fruits of his efforts was the introduction of warnings on labels to help consumers understand how to safely handle and cook meat.

Wednesday Detwiler said he sees hope for smaller outbreaks and larger preventive efforts by the food industry via the information gathering power of social media. He said sites such as Facebook and iwaspoisoned.com that give consumers the ability to report their food poisoning experiences as they occur have already identified outbreaks as they were happening.

“Consumers can perhaps drive some change through these kinds of sites,” Detwiler said.

Barbara Kowalcyk

Barbara Kowalcyk, assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the Ohio State University’s Translational Data Analytics Institute, likes numbers. She’s been working as a statistician since 1994 in the business and academic arenas.

“I’ve been working with ‘big data’ my whole career,” she said Wednesday. “We just didn’t call it that.” Kowalcyk cautioned, however, that big isn’t necessarily better. “Big data is relative” and must be considered in context, she said.

Fast data is another double edged sword that carries the appeal of what appears to be timely information when, in fact, you end up with less information in the long run. Kowalcyk offered the increasing popularity of culture-independent diagnostic tests (CIDTs) as an example.

Such tests can identify the general type of bacteria causing illness within hours, without having to culture, or grow the bacteria in a laboratory. However, the quick tests cannot identify the specific serotype of a foodborne bacterium, which is needed to confirm patients are part of the same outbreak and to help identify the specific food that made them ill.

Bill Marler

Bill Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark LLP in Seattle and best known for representing victims of the Jack in the Box outbreak, agreed that information is priceless, but said it’s not worth a dime if it’s ignored.

With each new outbreak, be it raw bean sprouts or contaminated flour, he hears the same chorus. “Oh, we never knew that could be a problem, when, in fact, there have been outbreaks before,” Marler said.

The food safety future Marler is hoping for involves using today’s information to prevent tomorrow’s outbreak.

“It’s like when a bus goes off a cliff and people say, ‘Oh we need to put up a guardrail.’ We need to develop the ability to figure out where we need the guardrail before the bus goes off the cliff,” Marler said.

Editor’s note: Bill Marler is publisher of Food Safety News.

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Federal inmate Stewart Parnell, the former chief executive and part owner of the now defunct Peanut Corporation of America, is the featured subject of a new episode of CNBC’s “American Greed.”  The episode premieres at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT on Monday, July 3.

Stewart, 63, is serving a 28-year prison sentence for knowingly shipping peanut products contaminated with salmonella, leading to thousands of illnesses and nine deaths in a foodborne illness outbreak that resulted in the largest food recall in U.S. history.

AmericanGreed_406x250“American Greed” is narrated by stage, screen and television actor Stacy Keach, best know for his portrayal of detective Mike Hammer and for his Golden Globe-winning depiction of Ernest Hemingway.

Producers of the true crime series have worked for many months on the Parnell episode.    It features on-camera interviews with such food safety advocates as attorney Bill Marler,  Northeastern University food policy expert Darin Detwiler, and whistleblower Kenneth Kendrick.

“American Greed” took up the story of the deadly 2008-09 outbreak that killed nine people because Parnell knew Peanut Corporation of America peanut butter and peanut paste was contaminated with Salmonella before it was shipped.

The TV series has focused on what it calls “stories from the dark side of the American Dream” to discover how far some people will go for financial wealth, “no matter the cost to themselves and those around them.” It has looked at all sorts of real-life cases. Many involve criminal activity, including  credit card scams, identity theft, counterfeiting and Ponzi schemes.

Before the Salmonella outbreak was discovered  in late 2008, Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) facilities in three states were managed by Parnell from a spacious residence just outside of Lynchburg, VA. When required, Parnell piloted his private plane to the state’s with company facilities.

In 2014 jury trial, Stewart Parnell was convicted on 67 federal felony counts and his brother Michael Parnell was convicted on 29. Both received prison sentences.

Three other PCA executives and managers were also convicted and sentenced to prison time.

USA CONGRESS SALMONELLA
Stewart Parnell

Parnell  is now incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) at Estill, SC,   He and his brother are appealing their convictions and their sentences to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Marler, who is also publisher of Food Safety News, represented majority  of the most seriously sickened PCA victims along with families of those who died in the outbreak.

Detwiler is a nationally known victim’s advocate who lost his son in the 1993 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak involving Jack in the Box.

Kendrick, hired as a manager at PCA’s Plainview, TX, facility, became a whistleblower after he learned no state or federal food safety agencies knew of the company’s existence because Parnell had decided not to register or license it.

CNBC has provided this promotional link:

“Next On | American Greed: From Peanuts To Sick Millions | American Greed – It’s one of the biggest food poisoning outbreaks in U.S. history: Peanut Corporation of America CEO Stewart Parnell ships peanut products tainted with salmonella – killing nine, sickening thousands.”

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