Food Safety:A Systems Perspective

John HelferichNortheastern University Open Classroom

3/28/2012

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Discussion Guide

• What is “Food Safety”? – The Scale of the Hazards– The Dynamics of the Hazards– The System and its Boundaries

• Food Safety Control• Some Food for Thought

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Food Safety, Security, and Defense

Food Safety

Preventing an acute illness caused by a hazard in food

Food Security

Preventing a deficiency of calories or nutrients

Food Defense

Preventing an intentional contamination of the food supply

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Food Safety Hazards

Pathogens

Chemicals

Foreign Objects

Allergens

GMOs

Obesity

OUTINOur Focus

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• The ProblemThe Hazards

MicrobiologicalSalmonella

CampylobacterListeriaE. Coli

BotulismNorwalk Virus

Vibrio

http://www.skyhighway.com/~multispecies/about.html

S. Typhimurium

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3000 deaths/yr

300,000 hospitalizations

76 MM illnesses

The scale of the issue1

1 CDC 2011, US only

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The Dynamics

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The System and itsBoundary

Systems Approach at MIT

Safety Constraint: Food shall contain no pathogen at point of consumption

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How to make food perfectly safe

Canned Gloved

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But this is how we really eat!

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Global

Processed Fresh

Local

Pre Civil WarPre WW II

1960s 1980s

Today

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Cantaloupe Listeria OutbreakAug 2011

• 25 deaths– Biggest outbreak in 25 years

• 116 Hospitalizations

• Cantaloupe industry decimated

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Third Party Audits

USA Today reported that Primus Labs of Santa Maria, California, gave the Jensen Farms packing house a "superior" rating just six days before the outbreak started. The private inspector noted that the newly installed equipment used water that was not treated with anti-microbial solution, but he didn't score them down for it

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Out of phase control loops

FDA officials told reporters the agency had never inspected Jensen Farms cantaloupe operation in 20 years of operation. The officials said they have learned that a private inspection led to high marks for Jensen shortly before the outbreak started.

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Farm – Factory Interface

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Farm – Factory InterfaceThe Cantaloupe Outbreak Aug 2011

Jensen Farms Packing House Oct 19, 2011

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A current controversy: Raw Milk

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Things to think about

• Food system is changing, approach to managing food safety should also change– Can we rely on “inspection” by regulators?

• Is local and unprocessed safer?– Would you serve raw milk to your children or grandchildren?– Would you serve it to your neighbor’s children?

• Would you trade safety for other attributes?– Unprocessed– Local, small supplier– Price

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Thanks!

For further info

helferic@mit.edu