St. Louis, Missouri, USA
July 31, 2016 – August 3, 2016

Session 1: Cyanotoxins in the Water Supply and Potential Food Safety Ripple Effects

Monday, August 1, 2016
1:30-3:00 PM, room 227

Why Is This Important?
Microcystin is a type of cyanotoxin and is one of several toxins produced by the cyanobacteria otherwise known as blue-green algae. The presence of high concentrations of microcystin in potable water recently became a serious health risk in the United States with potential impact on the food industry.  Increasing levels of cyanotoxins in water has also been recognized as an emerging global issue with potential implications for irrigation water used in agriculture.In this symposium we will review cyanotoxins and their effects on human health, potential impacts to the food industry including potable water used in food production and irrigation for agriculture, discuss monitoring activities, occurrence rates, action levels set by global regulatory agencies, and explore applicable mitigation methods.
Session Video Playlist

Session Moderator: Brent Kobielush, Cargill

Agenda
Cyanotoxins: An Emerging Global Issue
Kelly Magurany, ConAgra Foods

US Regulatory Perspective and Associated Human Health Effects with Cyanotoxin Exposure
Lesley D’Anglada, US EPA
Video

Mitigation of Cyanotoxins (Microcystin)
Richard Lorenz, OSU Stone Laboratory
Video

This session is a product of the IAFNS Food and Chemical Safety Committee.

Session 2: A Debate: Current Perspectives in Food Safety

Monday, 1 August 2016
3:30-5:00 
PM, room 223-224

Why Is This Important?
This interactive roundtable is intended to engender lively discussion of important food safety topics. It is assumed audience participants will have a basic understanding of the unresolved issues surrounding the topics to be discussed in the symposium. The session will cover three topics:  “Is our food supply too clean? Are there unintended health consequences as we chase zero?”; “Does the food industry need to change its approach to food safety management, taking into account cultural differences between boomers and millennials?”; and, “Is there a human health risk introduced from the use of chemical sanitizing agents in food manufacturing that exceeds the benefit from the reduction of microbial risk that is achieved?” Each topic will include a 7 minute presentation in support of (YES) followed by a 7 minute presentation in opposition of (NO) the proposed topic question.  Each speaker will have 3 minutes for extemporaneous rebuttals. A 6 minute question/answer session will then follow to allow for audience participation. We will have electronic polling of the audience to allow for a Yes/No vote on each topic question prior to and following the discussion to evaluate whether people’s views have been changed by the presentations.
Session Video Playlist

Agenda
Is our food supply too clean? Are there unintended health consequences as we chase zero?
Yes: Jeff Lejeune, Ohio State University 
No: Joe Stout, Commercial Food Sanitation, LLC 
Conveners:  Jean Anderson, General Mills, Philip Elliott, Kellogg Company

Video

Does the food industry need to change its approach to food safety management, taking into account cultural differences between boomers and millennials?
Yes: Benjamin Chapman, North Carolina State University
No: Kelly Stevens, General Mills Inc.
Conveners:  Jean Anderson, General Mills, Philip Elliott, Kellogg Company

Video

Is there a human health risk introduced from the use of chemical sanitizing agents in food manufacturing that exceeds the benefit from the reduction of microbial risk that is achieved?
Yes: Michael Holsapple, Michigan State University 
No: Katie Swanson, KMJ Swanson Food Safety, Inc. 
Convener: Paul Hanlon, Abbott Nutrition

Video

Session 3: The Rise of the Genomes- Improving Health through Better Food Quality and Food Safety

Tuesday, 2 August
8:30 AM-12 PM, room 223-224

Why Is This Important?
This session follows up on the past IAFNS sponsored, “Rise of the Genomes,” sessions in 2014 and 2015 with a focus on the applications of next generation sequencing methods, including whole genome sequencing for microbial source tracking, RNA-seq and metagenomics. Whole genome sequencing is becoming a routine tool to track foodborne pathogens from the farm to the table to identify and control outbreaks quickly and efficiently. The tool is also increasingly used by the industry to track pathogens in the production environment and characterize beneficial bacteria used in the food production, e.g., starter cultures and probiotics. However, bacteria in the gut are not just associated with foodborne infections. The composition of the gut flora, the gut microbiome, is also related to illness, e.g. cancer and atherosclerosis, and the composition of the microbiome is dependent on and may be altered through dietary changes. Next generation sequencing is also used to study the microbiome through metagenomics and RNA-seq can be applied to study how a microorganism thrives in a given niche.
Session Video Playlist

Agenda
Overview of Next Generation Sequencing
Peter Gerner-Smidt, CDC
Video

Implications of Whole Genome Sequencing Findings to the Food Industry
Deann Akins-Lewenthal, ConAgra Foods Inc.

Microbial Source Tracking
Bob Baker, Mars, Incorporated

RNA-seq of Pathogen Transcriptomes in Food and Food Associated Environments
Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University
Video

The Human Microbiome and Disease
Vincent Young, University of Michigan
Video

The Impact of Diet on the Human Microbiome
Gary Wu, UPenn
Video

This session is a product of the IAFNS Food Microbiology Committee.

Session 4: How Do I Validate That? Assuring Credibility of Non-Thermal and Novel Thermal Controls for Microbiological Hazards

Tuesday, August 2, 2016
1:30-3:00 PM, room 223-224

Why Is This Important?
Validation of hazard control measures is an important requirement of food safety management systems, and FSMA is amplifying the urgency of such validations. However, the vast majority of prior work and information available has focused primarily on reduction and control of microbial pathogens via thermal processes.  In contrast, criteria for the design, execution, and interpretation of validation studies for non-traditional/non-thermal controls often are unclear or simply unavailable.  A wide range of products are subjected to process steps that provide pathogen reduction by solely non-thermal means, such as high pressure processing, varied wavelength light exposure, and/or radio frequency treatment. This session discusses approaches to validation of a selection of non-thermal control measures.
Session Video Playlist

Agenda
Essential Criteria for Making a Non-Thermal Validation Study Acceptable to a Regulator
Nate Anderson, FDA CFSAN
Video

Validation of Ingredient-Based Systems to Control Pathogens
Kathleen Glass, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Video

Radio Frequency: New Technology Applications and Validation of Pathogen Reduction
Jeyamkondan Subbiah, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Video

Cold Plasma: A Case Study in Critical Factors Affecting Development and Validation of a Novel Technology
Brendan Niemira, USDA ARS
Video

This session is a product of the IAFNS Food Microbiology Committee.

Protocol and Surrogate Validation for the Inactivation of Salmonella on Spices

Oral Presentation – Survival of Salmonella enterica and a Surrogate Microorganism, Enterococcus faecium, on Whole Black Peppercorns and Cumin Seeds Subjected to Ethylene Oxide Fumigation – Video

Poster – Recovery of Salmonella from Steam and Ethylene Oxide-treated Spices Using Supplemented Agar with Overlay – Video PDF

Authors:
Jordan Newkirk, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Monica Ponder, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Jian Wu, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Robert C. Williams, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

Poster: Resistance of Spice-related Salmonella Serotypes and Pediococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 to Dehydration, Gamma-irradiation and Dry Storage

Poster P2-15 – PDF
Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Authors:
Elba V. Arias-Rios, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
James Dickson, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Gary Acuff, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Alejandro Castillo, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX