Tainted spinach sparks product announcements

Prominent among the products being touted as the answer to the industry's problems are those thatcan clean produce safely, and those that provide traceability.

Canada-based Biophage Pharma (BP) is one supplier who jumped at the chance to promote itscleaning products. Soon after the outbreak of disease linked to the bagged spinach, the companyannounced that its biosensor and phage products could help processors reduce bacterial contamination in food produce.

Bacteriophages are viruses that target bacteria, rather than human, plant or animal cells. Forevery bacteria, there is a phage that likes to latch on to them, take over their life processes andmultiply. The baby phages then burst out to attack other nearby targets, thus killing the host cell.

In August the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted its first ever approval of a bacteriophage-based product for use infood. Baltimore-based Intralytix received approval for its LMP-102 bacteriophage as a meatadditive.

Biophage Pharma says it has built up an extensive library of phages that can be used against a large number ofbacterial pathogens. The company developed its technology after an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Walkerton,Ontario led to the death of seven people.

Biophage says its library of phages could be developed as a powerful treatment for the control of E. coli O157:H7 bacterial contamination in food produce.

The company also suggests that its existing biosensor technologies can be developed to detect and identify live bacteria in aproduce sample.

ScoringAg is another company that sees opportunity from the breakdown in food safety thatresulted in the tainted spinach entering the market. ScoringAg marketing a product labeling system that providesmanagers with access to complete product source and traceback records at the time of purchase.

The company's traceback barcode label can provide a means of tracking a product through thesupply chain. The label can be designed as an exclusive micro-brand. By scanning the barcode or searching the SSI-EID code,processors can access the origin and other pertinent public information about the product including certification details and images.

The traceback barcodes for product labels can be used with or without radio frequencyidentification chips to allow the buyer to access specific certification product traceback records to regulators.

Information from the company's online Point-to-Point Traceback system can be displayed at any point during foodproduction. The information in the barcode can be accessed in the field or at any site during the food handling process,ScoringAg claims.

"Traceback and source verification for every handler in the food chain, including testing and lab results increases the product's value andbuilds buyer confidence at all sales levels,"​ the company stated.

In other related news Natural Selection Foods, the California company fingered by the FDA as thesource of the E. coli outbreak, has offered to compensate victims of the tainted spinach. NaturalSelection packs spinach and other produce for a number of brand names, including Dole.

To date, 187 cases of illness due to E. coli O157:H7 infection have been reported to the Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including 29 cases of kidney failure, 97 hospitalizationsand one death.

The company also announced that it has introduced new safety measures, including regular testing for E. coliwhen produce arrives at its plants.

Natural Selection's suppliers have also agreed to implement hygiene and food safety measuressimilar to those used at Natural Selection's packaging plants.

Meanwhile seven produce organizations worldwide have banded together to form a federation thatwill attempt to set standards for the sector.

The International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS) includes the Asociacion de Exportadores de Chile,the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, the UK's Fresh Produce Consortium, Horticulture Australia,Norges Frukt-og Gronnsaksgrossisters Forbund in Norway, United Fresh in New Zealand, and US-based Produce Marketing Association.

The IFPS will provide an international forum to address the issues faced by the produce sector. Initially the IFPS will focus on four keyissues. These are the formation of standards for emerging technologies, traceability, pesticides andrecommendations on good agricultural practices.

"All of us involved sincerely believe this provides a tremendous opportunity to eliminate previous fragmentation in efforts towardsstandards which affect our truly global industry,"​ the organisation stated in announcing itsformation.

The move comes as the FDA called on producers of spinach and other leafy greens to develop a plan to minimize the risk of another outbreak.

"Implementation of these plans will be voluntary, but FDA and the State of California are not excluding the possibility of regulatory requirements in thefuture,"​ the regulator warned.

The FDA will be holding a public meeting to address the larger issue of food borne illness linked to leafy greens later in the year onceit completes its investigation of the outbreak.

E. coli O157:H7 can cause abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, and in some cases, including in thisoutbreak, Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, which causes kidney failure and death. By issuing this alert tothe public earlier than in past outbreaks, the FDA has probably prevented even more people fromgetting sick or dying.