(we’re talking food contamination here!)
This is not a pretty subject but yet, we are returning to it, like a dog to … (see here for previous post). Food contamination is scary and I keep seeing it pop up in expert requests and lawsuits. So here we are again. According to a 2012 study, the cost of foodborne pathogens is around $77 billion per year. This is based on more recent, tighter CDC data on incidents of foodborne diseases. It is important to note that this study does not include other important costs:
“The study does not include costs to the food industry, including reduced consumer confidence, recall losses, or litigation, nor does it include the cost to public health agencies, local, state, and federal, that respond to illnesses and outbreaks.” (Food Safety News, Jan. 3, 2012)
Many companies come to our experts help them to verify their processing plants, their protocols, their transportation, etc, in order to make very sure that they are bringing only good food to the market. Lawyers come to us when this didn’t happen and there is a lawsuit to determine who bears the responsibility. We have served up these experts within the past 4 months.
Expert has over 30 years of experience developing consumer food products, quality and food safety systems. He has a Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from the University of Nebraska. Following this, he led the Quality Assurance and Product Development team for a major bakery product manufacturing group.
Expert is THE provider of expert microbiological know-how to a range of industries. He is a well-travelled and respected microbiologist on an international stage. Appointments within the pharmaceutical industry with Cyanamid, ICI, and Glaxo, public sector positions with the Department of Agriculture and academic appointments with Queen’s University of Belfast and the University of Bradford demonstrate his breadth of experience.
Expert in Food Toxicology and Food Allergies
Expert has 40 years of research on a wide variety of foodborne toxicants, both naturally-occurring and additives. Special interests have included food allergies and allergens, sulfites, histamine poisoning, and processing-induced toxicants. He is widely viewed as an expert on naturally-occurring toxicants in foods. He has been an expert witness in cases involving sulfites, allergies, histamine, E coli 0157:H7, and wine adulterants.
Expert has devoted a major portion of his career to research and teaching related to food safety issues, especially food microbiology. A special emphasis has been directed at new and traditional preservation techniques and how their modification and application influence surviving hazardous microorganisms. His experience is broad in various commodities and processes but he primarily focuses on extended shelf-life products.
Expert in Food Mycotoxicology, Mold, Aflatoxins, Toxicology
Expert has deep expertise in food microbiology, mycology, and mycotoxicology. His major research interests have included food poisoning bacteria, foodborne pathogens, food safety, and food processing to control potentially hazardous micro-organisms. He has conducted research with molds and mycotoxins on dairy and meat products, especially cheeses and cured meats, and has evaluated the potential health hazards associated with molds in these products. He has also studied the influence of antifungal agents on mold growth and mycotoxin production as well as the factors which effect the efficacy of antifungal agents. He is currently studying incidence of Fusarium species and toxins in cereal grains, foods and feeds, including fumonisins and deoxynivalenol (DON). Also being studied are the effects of food processing on mycotoxin stability and mold survival. Mold and mycotoxin content of grain dusts, developing selective and differential media for detection of molds and molds in buildings and other environments are also areas of interest.
Expert in Microbial Contamination Issues
Expert has over 10 years of experience as a professional microbiology consultant in the commercial, residential and manufacturing sectors. His lab and team can perform diagnostics with microbial contaminates and manufacturing facilities. He served as an expert in both mold litigation and microbial contamination cases.
Tags: E Coli, Food Toxicology, independent review
In related news:
“Hardest hit is FDA’s foods program, which is generally not funded by user fees. By all accounts, the majority of activity in that program has ground to a halt. In particular, notification programs such as those for GRAS uses of substances, food contact substances, and infant formula have ceased operation, leaving a number of submissions in limbo.
The effects of the shutdown will also be felt in relation to services that are not center-specific. For example, the Division of Dockets Management is shuttered and will remain so indefinitely. It is not clear how, in the interim, any submissions that must be made in person at the Division of Dockets Management will be handled (e.g., original citizen petitions). For routine docket submissions, the regulations.gov website says: “You can still submit comments to agencies using Regulations.gov during the shutdown.”
“- from the FDA Law Blog – http://www.fdalawblog.net/fda_law_blog_hyman_phelps/2013/10/as-partial-government-shutdown-kicks-in-fdas-foods-program-is-hardest-hit.html