|
Poster Presentation Information Exhibitor / Partner Presentations |
 Food Safety from the perspective of an Academician, Government Regulator, and Industry Advocate: A Combined Perspective
Food safety has become an increasingly important and visible issue in recent years. Numerous high profile outbreaks, scandals involving economic adulteration of food, and attention by mainstream media have made it clear that food safety is an issue that must be addressed sooner rather than later. However, international sourcing of ingredients, new technologies, rapid and often uncontrolled communications, the increasingly complex food systems, and new laws and regulations have made this seem like an impossible task. Never before has addressing food safety needed the combined expertise, innovation, and assets of all involved in the food production, processing, and distribution system. Academia, industry, and government each have a role to play that, combined, result in synergies that make solving food safety issues far more successful. However, before these organizations can work together successfully, it is essential that they truly understand each other’s perspectives, limitations, and strengths. Traditionally, the various segments of the food system have been viewed to have clearly defined roles, and were discouraged, or at least not encouraged, to go beyond those roles. Universities were viewed as the repository of knowledge, both technical and philosophical, whose job it was to teach and conduct research. In contrast, the food industry was viewed as the consumers of that knowledge and was expected to put that knowledge into practice to produce food and make money. Government, especially regulators, were viewed as police whose sole priority was dispassionately enforcing food safety laws without regard to cost, outcome, or appropriateness. Unfortunately, these views are unfair, inaccurate, untrue and certainly do not help the cause of food safety. The truth is that academicians, industry scientists, and regulatory agencies all have very broad views, skills, and desires that can and should be shared with each other. However, they each also have constraints and limitations that can affect their ability to contribute in an ideal way. Academicians often possess ideas and innovations that could greatly help both government and the food industry in improving food safety. However, their actions and focus are typically driven by their need to “publish or perish” if they are to be promoted and tenured. Moreover, younger faculty are becoming even more reluctant to work on the problems of the food industry, fearing that their work will be judged by some as compromised and “tainted”. The food industry likewise faces similar challenges in how they implement food safety programs within their specific companies. Superior food safety programs are costly and are often integrated into proprietary processes, making them difficult to share with either regulators or academics. Moreover, food safety leaders in companies must often deal with competing priorities such as complying with multiple and often conflicting regulatory requirements, changing product formulations, and of course meeting shareholder expectations of a profit. Most regulators truly do have a service oriented view of their role in food safety and see themselves as more than police. However, their ability to interact and share thoughts and actions with academia and the food industry is highly limited by legal constraints, the need to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, and lack of resources. Understanding the viewpoints and constraints of others in the food system is a first step in the ability of the three sectors working together to improve food safety. Such understanding can be accomplished by engaging with each other in professional and scientific meetings, participating in advisory committees, and forming public-private partnerships that are designed to take limitations into account, while extracting those benefits that such partnerships offer. ABOUT DR. BRACKETT With nearly 30 years of experience in scientific research in industry, government and academia Dr. Brackett most recently served as senior vice president and chief science and regulatory officer for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), a position he held since 2007. Prior to his position at GMA, he worked at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA CFSAN), where he started as a senior microbiologist in the Office of Plant and Dairy Foods and Beverages in 2000. After several promotions, Dr. Brackett was appointed to CFSAN Director, where from 2004-2007 he provided executive leadership to CFSAN’s development and implementation of programs and policies relative to the composition, quality, safety and labeling of foods, food and color additives, dietary supplements and cosmetics. Earlier in his career, Dr. Brackett held professorial positions with North Carolina State University in Raleigh, and the University of Georgia in both its Department of Food Science and Technology and the Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement.
  Copyright AOAC INTERNATIONAL. All Rights Reserved. Comments Questions, Concerns, e-mail webmaster@aoac.org. |
