NEWS BITES
Butterball Facility
Receives Highest OSHA
Recognition
Butterball, LLC has announced that its
Carthage, MO facility was recognized by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program (OSHA VPP)
with the highest of safety ratings, VPP Star certification, representing the turkey producer’s implementation of a world-class worker safety program.
One of several OSHA cooperative programs,
the VPP strives to recognize workplaces for their
excellence in occupational health and safety and
serves as the nation’s highest safety certification.
This marks the second consecutive year the
Carthage facility has received the esteemed honor.
“Receiving VPP Star status directly reflects our
continued commitment to the highest of safety
standards,” said Brian Rodgers, director of safety
and risk management, Butterball, LLC. “Worker
health and safety is a top priority for Butterball,
and we strive to integrate stringent safety
processes in all day-to-day business practices.”
To celebrate the plant’s accomplishments, no-
table representatives from the local Chamber of
Commerce and Fire Department joined Butterball
executives for the award presentation at the
Carthage facility. During the event, guests enjoyed
a catered lunch and significant speeches in addi-
tion to a presentation of the VPP Star certification
by Elizabeth Morales, regional compliance spe-
cialist at OSHA.
Currently, Butterball is one of only two turkey
producers in the United States to achieve VPP
Star status. Five of the company’s seven plants
have been recognized by OSHA’s VPP for continuously implementing practices that lower injury
occurrences and encourage high levels of employee participation at success rates significantly
higher than industry averages.
NEWS FLASH:
Highlights of the FSM eDigest
Articles in our March eDigest (available at
the eDigest archives at
www.foodsafetymagazine.com/exclusives.asp
focus on recall preparedness. Ed Mitchell and
Steve Gruler discuss the need for food companies to be wary of where their exposures to
contamination lie and to implement procedures to minimize risk.
AMI Urges Congress Against
‘User Fees’ to Pay for FSMA
In a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Related
Agencies Subcommittee on Appropriations, the American Meat Institute (AMI)
and 16 other food and beverage trade associations urged the committee against
using FDA “user fees” to pay for implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
President Obama signed the FSMA into law on January 4, 2011. FDA’s
2012 budget proposal released by the administration on February 14 targets raising revenue from these new fees starting in 2013 to assist FDA to
implement the new law. Congress rejected such fees during congressional
consideration of FSMA.
“While ensuring the safety of the U.S. food supply is the number one priority of our organizations and the food producers we represent, we urge
you to reject any efforts to create a new food tax on consumers and food
companies,” the groups wrote.
The letter notes that the White House has requested targeted funds for
FSMA’s implementation of $100 million for 2012. However, congressional
budget experts predict it will take at least $300 million a year to implement.
“Given that discrepancy, the administration should have requested more
funds for FDA in their budget submission rather than relying on congression-
ally rejected user fees to make up the difference,” the letter continued. “Im-
posing new fees on food facilities would represent a food safety tax on
consumers. As food companies and consumers continue to cope with a pe-
riod of prolonged economic turbulence, the creation of a new food tax would
mean higher costs for businesses and higher food prices for consumers.”
A copy of the letter is available at bit.ly/exLQYO.
Recent Articles Available Online at
www.foodsafetymagazine.com/signature.asp
Biological contamination is the leading cause of foodborne illness
and can occur at any time during food handling. The processes of
cooking, cooling and storage are particularly susceptible to contamination as food handlers are required to prepare, move and store
food. The Deltra TRAK article, Food Safety: Preventing Foodborne
Disease Through Proper Cooking, Cooling and Storage, looks at how
some specific bacteria, viruses and parasites can thrive and exist at
each stage. It also details important steps and tools available to eliminate this threat.
Study in NEJM Vindicates Tomatoes in
2008 Salmonella Saintpaul Outbreak
In a study released recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided detailed evidence linking a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul in 2008
to jalapeño and serrano peppers, and explained how tomatoes were mistakenly implicated in the early stages of the investigation. Read the full article at
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1005741.
