By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-1773 x 281Source(s):
Douglas Archer dlarcher@ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-1991 ext. 210
Geoffrey Gathercole Geoffrey.Gathercole@mdc.edu, (305) 237-2768
Richard Jones rljones@ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-1784
Linda Swacina Linda.Swacina@fsis.usda.gov, (305) 347-5552
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—To guard against unsafe food reaching consumers in today’s international marketplace, the Food Safety Institute of the Americas is being established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the University of Florida and other participants in 31 nations of the hemisphere.
The institute, which will involve other universities and organizations in the Western Hemisphere, will be a forum for exchanging scientific information, and developing and delivering education to improve the safety of meat, poultry and egg products.
In Florida, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has entered into a cooperative agreement with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, or UF/IFAS, and Miami Dade College to help launch the international food safety program.
Under the agreement, UF will work in partnership with Miami Dade College to develop research and education programs for the food safety institute, said Richard Jones, UF’s interim senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources.
“UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences was selected to participate in the regional food safety effort because of our expertise in food safety, including our national leadership in the HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point) food safety program,” Jones said.
Linda Swacina, executive director of the food safety institute located at the Claude Pepper Federal Building in Miami, said the program is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed by USDA and the Pan American Health Organization to improve the safety of meat and poultry products traded among the nations of the Western Hemisphere.
Doug Archer, a professor in the UF/IFAS food science and human nutrition department, will be the lead scientist in Gainesville, and Geoffrey Gathercole, director of community education at Miami Dade College, will be his counterpart in South Florida.
Archer said the rapidly growing global food market has created complex food safety and security issues.
“With the rise in international trade, today’s food distribution system can have a tremendous impact on the health of people in many nations,” he said. “This system delivers improved nutrition and wider product selection to consumers, but it also increases the possibility of unsafe food reaching a larger population – food-borne illness has no regard for state or national borders.”
Archer said nations in the Americas are part of a regional community where food production and distribution are closely entwined. To control risks and ensure food safety and security in the region, an open and effective exchange of information is essential.
“The food safety institute will bring regional resources together and serve as a focal point for exchanging information to help protect our food supply from farm to table,” Archer said.
“While other groups have attempted to build consortiums to address food safety, these efforts do not have an international focus,” he said. “The food safety institute will provide major outreach activities to identify, develop and coordinate educational programs and help implement science-based international food safety standards.”
In the Americas today, food safety varies significantly, particularly with regard to regulatory mechanisms, technical capacity and overall sustainability, Archer said. A 2001 Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture analysis of 31 developing countries in the Americas indicated that “institutional sustainability” is the largest limiting factor in forging national food safety services that address emerging threats and opportunities.
Archer said the food safety institute will be organized like a university, where subject matter expertise is grouped in specialized “colleges.” This structure will become the framework for educational programs, including Web-based information.
According to present plans, the food safety institute will have nine colleges covering international food safety agreements, regulatory studies, food protection programs, manufactured foods, public health studies, animal and food production studies, retail programs, laboratory studies, and consumer education programs.
“During the initial phase of the program, our goals include conducting a survey of public health infrastructure in 31 countries of the Americas, determining capabilities for delivering educational materials in those countries and developing a three- to five-year plan for sustaining the food safety institute,” Archer said.
Other UF/IFAS faculty participating in the food safety institute include Nayda Torres, a professor and chair of the family, youth and community sciences department; Ron Schmidt, a professor in the food science and human nutrition department; Steve Sargent, a professor in the horticultural sciences department; Terry Houser, an assistant professor in the animal sciences department; and Sally Williams, an associate professor in the animal sciences department.
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