News Life Sciences Summit peaks as more food regulations take shape
Summit peaks as more food regulations take shape
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By Kym Reinstadler | LabWork
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Summit Laboratory’s business has benefited as more big food buyers and government regulations have pushed food producers to test their products before sending them out the door. COURTESY PHOTO |
GRAND RAPIDS — Ensuring that food sold to customers is safe to eat is a monumental task involving countless people.
It’s also a fantastic business opportunity for one West Michigan environmental microbiology testing lab.
Summit Laboratory opened in Grand Rapids in May 1999 and expanded to Hart to serve the fruit and vegetable growing operations there in July 2009.
“Buyers are demanding that food processing facilities test ‘safe’ by independent, accredited labs before they buy,” Thomas Krueger, president of Summit Laboratory, told LabWork.
Large buyers like Wal-Mart, Kellogg, Nestle, Sara Lee and General Mills drive innovations in safe food handling practices by refusing to buy food from processors and packers who can’t prove their operations meet high safe-handling standards, said Krueger, a microbiologist.
To keep pace with customer needs, Summit Laboratory recently became the first lab in Michigan to achieve ISO 17025 accreditation, the highest industry standard for data collection and documentation.
A philosophical shift from reaction to prevention is evident in the Food Safety Modernization Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in January 2011, Krueger said.
This new legislation — heralded as the biggest step in food safety since the 1930s – gives the Food and Drug Administration a modern mandate for safeguarding the nation’s food supply.
The new law puts the burden of ensuring food safety on any business that produces, processes, transports or sells food to the public. All parties are required to systematically identify and control hazards.
They must also document comprehensive compliance standards that ensure they are taking precautions to keep food safe.
The new law gives the FDA greater authority to inspect food handling facilities, especially ones in foreign countries, and domestic facilities handling fruits and vegetables that are at high risk of carrying food-borne illnesses.
“Prevention management is critical and the industry knows it,” Krueger said. “A recall is more than a public relations nightmare. It represents a huge economic loss from which many businesses cannot recover.”
One recent example is a nationwide outbreak of salmonella. The contamination was ultimately traced to the Peanut Corporation of America, but not before 714 people fell ill, 200 of them so sick they were hospitalized. The outbreak was responsible for nine deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Quickly pinpointing the source of the contamination in a tainted food is difficult because of the complexities of manufacturing, processing and distribution, Kreuger said.
The best and most cost-effective defense is regularly testing food handling facilities for salmonella, listeria, E. coli, staff infections, yeasts and molds, he said.
Food-contact surfaces, processing equipment, drains — even heating and cooling systems — are swabbed and specimens sent to Summit Labs for analysis.
Summit Laboratory employs a dozen degreed microbiologists and one chemist who perform thousands of tests per month, Krueger said. They also train employers and employees alike on controlling pathogens.
Packers and other clients are charged per analysis. Krueger said clients appreciate being able to pick up the phone and talk directly to the scientist who performed a certain analysis. Clients themselves determine whether to test for contamination daily, weekly, or by lot. Auditors employed by buyers carefully monitor safe food handling practices, Krueger said.
The public is usually surprised to learn that there are no federal or state testing requirements for most foods, Krueger said.
“About 80 percent of Michigan companies already had food safety management systems in place before the new law required it,” Krueger said. “It’s a testament to the level of professionalism in the state. Most facilities are already run by people who understand the importance of control standards.”
Summit just purchased a state-of-the-art machine that uses Polymerase Chain Reaction technology to detect and copy the genetic make-up of samples. This methodology will generate faster results with fewer false positives, Kreuger said.
Foodborne illnesses are a big, ugly deal, afflicting 48 million people each year, or about one in six Americans.
Usually, unpleasant symptoms persist only a day or two, but about 128,000 people annually get so sick they must be hospitalized. About 3,000 die.
Footborne illnesses can also lead to the chronic diseases, including arthritis, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
Safe handling controls are not new to the food industry. The FDA already requires them for seafood, eggs in their shell and juices. The new law does not apply to meat, poultry and processed eggs, since they’re regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. LW
