Columbus, Ohio hospital study finds that 40% of children admitted to ERs with injuries from household cleaning products are traceable to products in non-child resistant bottles, sprayers. Data such as that developed by Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH, has, in the past, prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue regulations requiring child-resistant packaging for “toxic household substances.” Cleveland Plain Dealer put the story, by Diane Suchetka, consumer health reporter, on page 1 of its Monday, August 2, issue. Read her story at:

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2010/08/spray_bottles_responsible_for.html

Supermarketnews.com reports that Wegmans Food Markets is doing something with a private label that it’s never done before: calling out the product’s manufacturer on packaging.

The retailer decided to add the name of family-owned Gottlieber Spezialitäten AG to the label of its new Wegmans Brand Swiss Crepes since it has a strong reputation for quality. The company is a gold medal winner with the Exposition of Swiss Tourism in International Culinary Art.

Alarmed about a recent spate of “cargo thefts,” FDA sends a letter to industry stakeholders asking for tightened security of warehouses/transportation system/shipments of drugs, medical devices and other sensitive products, and to alert authorities, and the FDA in particular, when thefts occur…

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm209911.htm

The US Food & Drug Administration is considering regulations requiring additional “front of the package” nutritional labeling of foods and seeking industry input on the idea. To the extent that you currently place such information elsewhere than the front of the package, and are using the front of your package for other text and graphic information, you may want to give the agency your two cents worth. Speak now (until July 28th) or the ship will leave the dock without you…

FDA will accept your electronic comments until July 28, 2010. Details on today’s action by the FDA – along with the text of the Federal Register document on this initiative – follow here. (http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm209953.htm)

Slack fill in food packages is one of those itches that requires consumer advocacy scratching whenever things are otherwise quiet on the packaging front. And so, while we were attending Walmart’s Sustainable Packaging Expo and SVN meeting last week, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) urged FDA and state attorneys general to crack down on the practice. And, in this era of heightened interest in sustainability, CSPI couldn’t resist labeling slack fill “an environmental nightmare” as well as deceptive

http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/memo_-_slack_fill.pdf
http://www.cspinet.org/new/201004051.html

Contacted for comment on CSPI’s initiative by Media Post’s Marketing Daily, Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) responds: “The realities are that there are a multitude of reasons why certain packages are certain sizes, including FDA food safety requirements as well as size, shape and rigidity requirements that enable products to withstand the demands of the supply chain (i.e., shipping, storing, etc.). Sustainability is a top priority for our industry — we are working collaboratively with retailers to come up with innovative ways to reduce packaging to meet the demands of our consumers.”

Regards,

Ben Miyares
The Packaging Management Institute
bmiyares@packmgmt.org

All presentations are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat reader to view.

1. Four Questions

2. Building a Framework for Improving the Usefulness of Food Safety Metrics –Concepts and Tools :: Presented by Malcolm J. Bertoni Assistant Commissioner for Planning Office of Policy, Planning, and Budget U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

3. A Farm-to-Table Approach forFood Safety Metrics :: Presented by Carol Maczka, PhD Assistant Administrator Office of Data Integration and Food Protection Food Safety and Inspection Service U.S. Department of Agriculture

4. Measuring the Effectiveness of Process;Linking to Outcome :: Presented by Christopher R. Braden, MD Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases NCEZID

5. Estimating and tracking changes in the incidence of illness due to major foodborne pathogens using Foodnet surveillance :: Presented by Olga L Henao, PhD Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases

6. Estimating the Burden of Foodborne Diseases in the United States :: Presented by Elaine Scallan, PhD Colorado School of Public Health

7. Tracking foodborne disease outbreaks due to specific food commodities :: Presented by Barbara Mahon, MD, MPH, Team Lead, FoodNet and Outbreak Surveillance Team, Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch, Division of Foodborne Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (Proposed),CDC

8. Overview of CDC efforts to address food attribution :: Presented by Robert V. Tauxe, M.D., M.P.H. Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

9. Attribution of illnesses to food commodities: an approach using complex outbreak data. Measuring Progress on Food Safety – Current Status and Future Directions :: Presented by Patricia M. Griffin, MD, Chief Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch Division of Foodborne Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

10. A method for estimating animal sources of human Salmonella infections using microbiologic data from food product of animal origin. :: Presented by Dana Cole, DVM, PhD Doctoral Epidemiologist, FoodNetand Outbreak Surveillance Team Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and MycoticDiseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, Georgia

11. Measuring Progress Through Foodborne Illness Attribution & Pathogen Verification Testing :: Presented by Erin Dreyling, PhD Director, Christopher AlvaresDeputy Director Data Analysis & Integration GroupOffice of Data Integration & Food ProtectionFood Safety Inspection Service

12. Assessing Program Effectiveness Through Observation of Food Safety Practices in Food Establishments. FDA’s Retail Risk Factor Study. :: Presented by Kevin SmithFDA/ CFSAN –Office of Food Safety

13. Applied Food Safety Metrics:Reducing the Number of Foodborne Disease Outbreaks by Linking Outbreak Contributing Factors to a Food Safety Regulatory Program. :: Presented by Michael J. Cambridge, R.S., Director Bureau of Community Environmental Health and Food Protection New York State Department of Health

14. Food Safety Metrics -Industry Perspective – Measuring Progress of Food Safety – Current Status and Future Directions :: Presented by Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D. Senior Vice President and Chief Science and Regulatory Officer Grocery Manufacturers Association

Measuring Progress on Food Safety—
Current Status and Future Directions

Date: March 30, 2010
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Location: Hyatt Regency Washington
400 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.

AGENDA

9:00 Welcome – Nega Beru, PhD, Director, Office of Food Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA

Opening Remarks
– Introduction by Michael R. Taylor, JD, Deputy Commissioner for Foods,FDA

• Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, PhD, Special Assistant to the President for Justice and Regulatory Policy at the White House Domestic Policy Council

9:15 Policy Context

• Michael R. Taylor, JD
• Jerold R. Mande, MPH, Deputy Under Secretary and Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA

9:45 Building a Framework for Improving the Usefulness of Food Safety Metrics
– Moderator: David Goldman, MD, MPH, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Public Health Science, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA

• Malcolm Bertoni, MS, Assistant Commissioner for Planning and Director of the Office of Planning, Office of the Commissioner, FDA
• Carol Maczka, PhD, Assistant Administrator, Office of Data Integrationand Food Protection, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA
• Christopher Braden, MD, Captain, U.S. Public Health Service;Acting Director, Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases; National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases(Proposed); CDC

◊ Q&A

10:15 Break

10:30 Measures of Progress Based Primarily on Human Data
– Moderator: Christopher Braden, MD

• Estimating and tracking changes in the incidence of illness due to major foodborne pathogens using FoodNet surveillance – Olga Henao, PhD, Epidemiologist, Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), CDC
• Method for estimating the total burden of domestically acquired foodborne illness – Elaine Scallan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Colorado School of Public Health
• Tracking foodborne disease outbreaks due to specific food commodities – Barbara Mahon, MD, MPH, Team Lead, FoodNet and Outbreak Surveillance Team, Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch, Division of Foodborne Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (Proposed),CDC
• Overview of methods for attributing the burden of illness across modes of transmission and food vehicles – Robert V. Tauxe, MD, MPH, Deputy Director, Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vectorborne and Enteric Diseases, CDC
• Attribution of illnesses to food commodities: an approach using outbreak data – Patricia M. Griffin, MD, Chief of Enteric Diseases, Epidemiology Branch,CDC
• A method for estimating animal sources of human Salmonella infections using microbiologic data from food product of animal origin – Dana Cole, DVM, PhD, Doctoral Epidemiologist, FoodNet and Outbreak Surveillance Team, Division of Foodborne Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases,CDC

◊ Q&A

12:45 Lunch

2:00 Measures of Progress Based Primarily on Nonhuman Data
– Moderator: John J. Guzewich, RS, MPH, Senior Advisor for Environmental Health, Office of Food Defense, Communication, and mergency Response,Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA

• Measuring progress through foodborne illness attribution and pathogen verification testing – Erin Dreyling, PhD, Director, Data Analysis and Integration Group, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA, and Chris Alvares, MS, Deputy Director of Data Analysis and Integration Group, Office of Data Integration and Food Protection, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA
• FDA data on retail food survey – Kevin Smith, MPH, Director, Retail Food and Cooperative Programs Coordination Staff, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA
• Applied food safety metrics: reducing the number of foodborne disease outbreaks by linking outbreak contributing factors to a food safety regulatory program – Michael Cambridge, R.S., Director, Bureau of Community Environmental Health and Food Protection, New York State Department of Health
• Industry perspective – Robert E. Brackett, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Scienceand Regulatory Officer, Grocery Manufacturers Association
• Consumer perspective – Barbara Kowalcyk, MS, Center for Foodborne IllnessResearch & Prevention

◊ Q&A

3:30 Break

3:45 Q&A / Discussion
– Moderator: Kara Morgan, PhD, Senior Advisor for Risk Analysis,Office of Regulatory Affairs, FDA

Panel members:

• Malcolm Bertoni, MS
• Christopher Braden, MD
• David Goldman, MD
• Michael Batz, MSc, Executive Director, Food Safety Research Consortium and Head of Food Safety Programs, Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida
• Robert E. Brackett, PhD
• Barbara Kowalcyk, MS

4:45 Closing Remarks

• Michael R. Taylor, JD

5:00 Adjourn

EPA’s “BPA action plan,” released today, will look to add BPA to EPA’s list of chemicals of concern and require testing related to environmental effects.

EPA released the following three documents in connection to its action plan:

EPA to Scrutinize Environmental Impact of Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A (BPA) Action Plan Summary

Bisphenol A Action Plan (CASRN 80-05-7) (PDF)

Packaging Management Institute, Inc.

A service organization facilitating market research and information exchange

• Packaging Management 3.0*
  Market intelligence and understanding

• Packaging Management Initiatives*
  Customized strategic inquiries

• Packaging Economics*
  Tracking cost, price, financing, salary trends

• Packaging White Papers.com*
  Practical, tactical research exchange

*Packaging Management 3.0, Packaging Management Initiatives, Packaging Economics and Packaging White Papers.com are trademarked services of The Packaging Management Institute, Inc.

Ben Miyares
Managing Director
The Packaging Management Institute
bmiyares AT packmgmt.org
440-892-0998