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Nov 15, 2021
Risk ranking and risk prioritization are key tools for a risk-based decision-making system. For food safety and environmental risks, many examples of how to analyze risks for a risk ranking have been published. What has been missing is a how-to guide for the steps before the ranking. The FAO Guide for Ranking Risks at a National Level came out in 2020 to fill that gap. The FAO Guide lays out the process at a high level, but detail is lacking. Our team has conducted two applications of the first step in the FAO Guide, namely, the scoping workshop. In this SRA workshop, we will share our experiences and lessons learned for a successful implementation of this phase, and provide some early thinking about the next phases of the process. Join us if you expect to be conducting a risk ranking in the future, so you can build on what we have learned.
Click here to register
Instructor: Dr. Kara Morgan
Co-Organizers: Dr. Barbara Kowalcyk and Dr. Arie Havelaar
Date: Friday, December 10, 2021
Time: 8AM-12PM (half-day)
Cost: General registration fee - $80 for half-day workshops
Student registration fee - $35 for half-day workshops
(students should use the main registration portal to register for the workshop but they do not need to register for the conference)
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Nov 8, 2021
CFI’s Director, Dr. Barbara Kowalcyk, will be speaking at the first African Continental Association for Food Protection (ACAFP) Virtual Food Safety Conference for Africa hosted by the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP).
Title: “Risk-based Food Safety Systems in Africa: Experiences from Two Collaborative Projects”
Date: Thursday, November 11th, 2021
Time: 8:50am-9:00am EST
Conference Description: "The conference theme is “Food Safety in Africa, Past, Current and The Future” and includes five sub-themes that address this theme. The African Continental Association for Food Protection (ACAFP) is an IAFP Affiliate that provides a forum for food safety professionals in industry, international organizations, government, academia, and students in food safety programs to share information and experiences on food safety-related issues on the Continent of Africa and to share ideas on how to improve the quality and safety of foods produced in the Continent as well as imported and exported food products."
There is a fee to attend and registration is required: https://acafp2021.org.za/registration/
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Nov 1, 2021
Dr. Barbara Kowalcyk, the Director of the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention, was recently quoted in a news story that addressed the increase of contaminated Australian meat shipments coming into the United States. Some of the shipments contained fecal contamination which may be due, in part, to the fact that many companies in Australia inspect their own meat instead of relying on regulated government inspectors.
Click here to read the article.
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Oct 14, 2021
Please join us for our CFI Webinar scheduled for Wednesday, October 27th from 12:00pm-1:00pm EDT.
Registration Link: https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZDmrb6ZlSTulkzOYKDUUww
Experts from academia, industry, and government have long recommended the development of a data-driven approach for improving food safety. Vast amounts of data are collected throughout the food system – on the farm, in processing, during distribution and at retail – but limited sharing makes it difficult to access this information for effective decision-making.
What is needed to effectively and efficiently use existing data to inform decision-making? The panelists will share their perspective and identify how to move food safety towards this goal of better information to make informed food safety decisions.
Panelists:
Melody Ge - VP of Governance, Intelligence, Analytics at Corvium; Founder of Women in Food Safety
Andrew Kennedy - New Era Technology Team Leader at FDA U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Suzy Sawyer - Food, Safety, Quality & Regulatory Data Lead at Cargill
Moderator:
Barbara Kowalcyk - Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention
This event will be presented with automated closed captions. If you wish to request traditional CART services or other accommodations, please contact Ashley Cellar at cellar.21@osu.edu or 614-753-3850. Requests made by October 18th will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the university will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.
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Aug 23, 2021
Women play an important but often unrecognized role in the safe production of milk and milk products, particularly in Ethiopia. Dairy products can be contaminated with biological chemical, and physical hazards. This article reviews literature on the microbiological and/or gendered aspects of milk handling in Ethiopia. To reduce foodborne disease and improve overall family health, there is a need to combine food safety research with gender sensitive interventions in Ethiopia.
Click here to read the article in the International Dairy Journal.
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Jul 15, 2021
We are pleased to announce that several of our CFI Team Members will be participating in the IAFP (International Association for Food Protection) Annual Meeting next week – July 18th-21st.
To learn more about any of the posters, technical sessions, roundtables and presentations, please click here.
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Jun 7, 2021
2019-2020 CFI Impact Report is now avalable. Click here to access the report.
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May 27, 2021
Summary from CDC email:
"Botulism is serious illness caused by a toxin that attacks nerves and causes muscle paralysis, difficulty breathing, and even death. Foodborne botulism is one of the five main kinds of botulism. This month, CDC published the first comprehensive clinical care guidelines for botulism in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
CDC developed the guidelines through a multiyear process involving extensive expert input and six systematic reviews of 100 years of scientific literature.
The guidelines provide:
Recommended best practices for diagnosing, treating, and monitoring people with botulism
Special considerations for infants, children, and pregnant or breastfeeding patients
Suggestions for supportive care, including psychosocial support for patients and family members
The guidelines are intended for the treatment of one or many patients, and they would be especially useful during an outbreak in which resources, such as ventilators, medical staff, and antitoxin, might be in short supply."
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May 10, 2021
The Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention (CFI) at The Ohio State University is pleased to announce that Gina Nicholson Kramer, REHS/RS has joined our team as Program Director for Partnerships and Learning. In this role, she will oversee CFI’s efforts to prepare leaders, students and engaged citizens in food safety as well as develop and implement new learning and education programs that meet the needs of stakeholders and complement existing OSU food safety educational efforts. Gina brings her 20+ years of experience leading food safety projects, programs and companies to CFI. Prior to joining CFI, Gina served as Director of Advisory Services at Matrix Sciences International; Founder and Executive Director of Savor Safe Food and Savour Food Safety International; Global Retail Client Director at NSF International; Senior Food Safety & Quality Manager at The Kroger Company; Health Promotions Program Manager at Columbus Public Health, and Food Safety Specialist at Richland County Health Department.
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Apr 15, 2021
Summary from FDA website:
"As part of our ongoing efforts to combat foodborne illness, today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published a report on the investigation into the Fall 2020 outbreak of Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STEC) O157:H7 illnesses linked to the consumption of leafy greens grown in the California Central Coast. The report describes findings from the investigation, as well as trends that are key to understanding leafy green outbreaks that are linked to the California Central Coast growing region, specifically encompassing the Salinas Valley and Santa Maria growing areas every fall since 2017."
Click here to read the full article
