FDA Proposes Further Action to Improve
Farm-to-Table Shell Egg Safety

On September 20, FDA proposed a regulation to further improve the safety of shell eggs on the farm. When implemented, the production changes defined by the regulation will significantly reduce the number of illnesses caused by eggs contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis (SE). The press release announcing the proposed regulation is on FDA's website at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fpeggs3.html. The press release also contains links to the proposed rule and a fact sheet describing highlights of the proposed rule.

An estimated 118,000 illnesses per year are caused by consumption of SE-contaminated eggs. If an individual eats an SE-contaminated egg that is not fully cooked, the individual may suffer mild to severe gastrointestinal illness, short term or chronic arthritis, or death.

The proposed regulation would require implementation of SE prevention measures for all egg producers with 3,000 or more laying hens that produce shell eggs for retail sale and do not process their eggs with a treatment, such as pasteurization, to ensure their safety.

The proposed rule is part of a joint and coordinated strategy by FDA and the Food Safety Inspection Service (USDA) to more effectively deal with egg safety for both shell eggs and egg products. FDA and FSIS will continue to work closely together to ensure that our egg safety measures are consistent, coordinated, and complementary.

While this proposal focuses primarily on the farm, FDA is aware of illnesses and outbreaks associated with serving undercooked eggs at retail establishments. Therefore, FDA is soliciting comment on whether to propose potential retail establishment requirements to address their concern.

A comment period of 90 days will be provided on the proposal. Written comments can be submitted to FDA at: Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852 . It is important to include docket numbers 1996P-0418, 1997P-0197, 1998P-0203, and 2000N-0504 and RIN Number 0910-AC14.

2004 Professional Development Program in Food Science for
Science Teachers Reaches 50 State Goal

The FDA-National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) 2004 Professional Development Program in Food Science achieved an important goal this year having included teachers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico. This program, now in its fifth year, provides teachers with an opportunity to learn skills and update knowledge of food science and food safety to better prepare them to use the FDA-NSTA supplementary food science curriculum, Science and Our Food Supply. In total, 250 teachers have participated in the program. In turn, these teachers have conducted workshops reaching more than 4,000 teachers nationwide.

The science teachers, representing urban, suburban, and rural schools come from as far away as the Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and as nearby as Bethesda, Maryland. The teachers spend 6 days in the program. The high school teacher participated July 19-24 and the middle school teachers Aug. 2-7. The first day is a crash course in food science and food microbiology. Day 2 finds the teachers at the University of Maryland, College Park, learning the basics of laboratory procedures and beginning work on the experiments contained in the curriculum. It's off to learn about food safety on the farm with a tour of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center on Day 3. On Day 4, the science teachers tour a seafood processing plant to learn firsthand about the food safety system called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, and then back to the University of Maryland to see the results of experiments begun on Day 2. CFSAN hosts the science teachers on Day 5 with a tour of the new laboratory facilities in College Park, as well as presentations on foodborne illness epidemiology and outbreak investigations, investigations of new pathogens, and an overview of the resources of the Foodborne Illness Education and Information Center. The program concludes on Day 6 with the teachers taking on the role of students by completing the classroom activities.

Food Safety and Security Staff E-mail:

Office Number: (301) 436-2277· FAX (301) 436-2605 CFSAN Web site: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/