RAC Meeting Minutes (September 6, 2001)
September 6, 2001
9:30am - 1pm ET
ERS 1800 M St. NW, Food Safety Room S3032
In Attendance:
Mary Bartholomew (CVM)
Audrey Ichida (JIFSAN)
Ivor Knight (USAID)
Wes Long (JIFSAN)
Carol Maczka (phone) (FSIS)
Robert McDowell (phone) (APHIS)
Michael McElvaine (ORACBA)
Tom Oscar (phone) (ARS)
Angela Ruple (phone) (NMFS)
Vivian Turner (ORD)
Angelo Turturro (phone) (NCTR)
Richard Whiting (CFSAN)
Nicole Ballenger (ERS)
John Cicmanec (ORD)
Peg Coleman (ARS)
Michael Cooper (FSIS)
Kathrine Hollinger (phone) (OWH)
Tami Lasky (FSIS)
Jacqueline McQueen (ORD)
Marianne Milliotis (CFSAN)
Mark Tamplin (ARS)
Updates from members and other attendees:
Peg Coleman (USDA)- She will back in DC in a few months. She has been working on growth modeling for 0157:H7.
Mary Bartholomew (CVM)- E. faecium RA is ongoing. CVM is
funding some studies. Mary Torrence helped them add E. faecium onto
a produce study. They are looking for expert elicitations to fill
some data gaps.
RAC policy council representative, Gregg Claycamp is working on
risk issues concerning genetically engineered animals (current
issue is fish). CVM has formed one team to deal with policy and
another team to deal with scientific considerations related to
regulation of genetically modified animals and clones.
Dick Whiting (CFSAN)- The CFSAN Listeria team is working on updating the Listeria RA based on the public comments.
John Cicmanec-(EPA) Visiting from Cincinnati, Ohio. He works on Cryptosporidium and O157:H7 and is interested in dose-response.
Marianne Milliotis (CFSAN)- no major remodeling comments were received on the Vibrio RA. Team hopes to be done by the end of the year.
Nicole Ballenger (ERS)- Nicole is taking Steve Crutchfield's place
as the policy council representative.
She passed out Product Liability and Microbial Foodborne Illness
Report
http://www.ers.usda.gov/catalog/OneProductAtATime.asp?PDT=2&PID=1196
Ivor Knight (USAID)- AID sponsored a group of Guatemalan food safety experts to take the Michigan State food safety course. They also met with FDA and APHIS folks.
Mark Tamplin (ARS)-ARS is interested in research priorities for risk assessments. ARS hotdog study is ongoing, may be completed next year.
Tami Lasky (FSIS)- human health sciences division at FSIS. Tammi is interested in epidemiology, data quality, data handing, and meta analysis (integrating findings from multiple studies).
Michael Cooper- New at FSIS, just listening today.
Wes Long- (JIFSAN) The JIFSAN liaison staff and UMD faculty are recipients of a CSREES grant for developing distance learning courses in food safety risk analysis.
Audrey Ichida (JIFSAN) has renewed her fellowship for a second year and will continue to support RAC activities among other things. She is working on short paragraphs for each member agency to describe their role in risk assessment and in the RAC.
Rob McDowell- Busy with writing annual accomplishments at APHIS. Also working on a draft document for policy for preharvest food safety. The draft is on microbial issues only.
Angelo Turturro (NCTR)- NCTR has their Cryptosporidium project approved. Angelo will invite Jimmy Chang (NCTR project on dose-response-for a mix of chemicals) to present at the Dec. RAC quarterly meeting.
Carol Maczka- (FSIS- acting director of risk assessment group) The draft E. coli O157:H7 risk assessment was submitted to the National Academies of Science (NAS) for review. FSIS will also announce its public availability in the federal register and invite public comment. FSIS will revise the E. coli RA in response to NAS comments. NAS has promised a turn around time of 8 months. Mike Doyle is chair of the committee. Check the website for committee members and public meeting information.
In Dec. someone from FSIS will present the BSE RA. (Allen Hogue had to cancel for this meeting.) FSIS is also undertaking RA on Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry.
Angela Ruple- (NMFS) in Mississippi. NMFS is following the Vibrio RA. NMFS is also developing a risk management plan for Vibrio v. and Vibrio p.
Tom Oscar- (ARS-eastern shore) They are working on predictive models for informing risk assessments on Salmonella and Campylobacter in chickens. They are also developing GFP-labeled strains for looking at microbes in food matrix.
Katherine Hollinger (OWH)- The Institute of Medicine recently
published a report entitled "Exploring the Biological Contributions
to Human Health: Does Sex matter?" This report clarifies the difference
between the definitions of sex and gender and provides an excellent
review of the recent scientific literature identifying biological
and physiological differences between the sexes. The report showed
that sex makes a difference in several areas that include; immune
function, cardiovascular disease presentation, drug metabolism
nociception, behavior, brain organization among others. Also, sex-based
differences in exposure are likely to result from some of these
sex-based differences in behavior, biology and physiology. To read
the IOM summary report visit:
http://www.iom.edu/IOM/IOMHome.nsf/Pages/does+sex+matter+summary
OR read the report in its entirety online at:
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309072816/html/
OWH is planning the development of a demographic database that
would contain clinical trial data for medical products that are
evaluated by the agency. The database will be designed to track
participation of sub-groups of the population in clinical trials
and determine whether the data were analyzed for differences in
sex, race/ethnicity and age as well as for other sub-groups of
the population that may have a greater risk of adverse events.
The development of the database will be aligned with concurrent
developments in electronic submissions that are currently underway
at the Agency. Once developed, this database will collect electronic
data from all human product Centers within the FDA and will help
ensure the safety of medical products for all segments of the population.
Vivian Turner (EPA/ORD)- Jackie McQueen will be taking over for
Vivian for interim.
ORD is working to get input from scientists in the Antimicrobials
Division/ OPPTS involved with RAC. Additionally, more ORD
scientists in this discipline are being recruited to assist with
the MRA.
Discuss the International Conference planning committee progress (Wes Long)
Each agency should have received a letter requesting funding.
Conference will try to have 50% international speakers, also target
women in science.
This meeting requires registration fee.
The meeting will be in late July 2002.
(AVMA meeting is July 13-17)
There is a steering committee and a program planning committee.
PLENARY session: Microbiological risk assessments (presentations
on food safety microbial risk assessments underway throughout the
world.) 6 hours, 8 speakers
Organizers: Sharon Thompson and Carol Maczka
Concurrent session: Resources for risk assessors (presentations
on risk assessment software and databases that risk assessors might
find helpful) 4 ½ hours, 10 speakers
Organizers: Audrey Ichida and Mary Bender
Concurrent session: Challenges in Modeling (This session will
explore current limitations and barriers to the development of
effective models for both exposure and dose-response for microbiological
agents.) 4 ½ hours, 9 speakers
Organizers: Dick Whiting, Peg Coleman, Kathrine Hollinger
Concurrent session: Assessing Food Safety Risks Associated with
Non-bacterial Microorganisms (This session will consider approaches
to conducting microbial food safety risk assessments involving
non-bacterial microorganisms such as viruses, protozoa, and various
parasites.) 6 hours, 12 speakers
Organizers: Steve Schaub and Angelo Turturro
Concurrent session: Intervention strategies for pathogen control
(presentations on how various interventions can be modeled in risk
assessments.) 3 hours, 6 speakers
Organizers: Dick Whiting and Tanya Roberts
Concurrent session: Communication at the Interface between risk
assessors and risk managers. 3 hours, 6 speakers
Organizers: Sherri Dennis and Wes Long
MRAF work group project update (Audrey Ichida)
A contractor will be hired to interview 9 federal risk assessors
to ask questions about 5 of the US risk assessments in the context
of a general microbiological risk assessment framework.
96 unique "elements" were identified between the Codex and ILSI
frameworks. Sample matches between Codex and ILSI were presented.
8 general questions for each element were discussed and 5 general
questions.
Clarifying language was suggested by a number of RAC members.
July 2002 RAC public meeting (Wes Long)
A draft proposal was presented based on ideas generated at the
May 2001 RAC quarterly meeting.
Each agency was asked if they would be willing to develop a poster
on the different risks they assess. The posters should showcase
each agency and how they are involved with risk assessment.
The meeting might be a "meet the risk assessors" showcase.
One question was, how to we document the ideas that come out of
the meeting?
Agencies represented:
Office of Research and Development (EPA/ORD)
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (DHHS/FDA/CFSAN)
Center for Veterinary Medicine (DHHS/FDA/CVM)
National Center for Toxicological Research (DHHS/FDA/NCTR)
Office of Women's Health (DHHS/FDA/OWH)
Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN)
National Marine Fisheries Service (DOC/NMFS)
United States Agency for International Development (USAID/G/EGAD/AFS)
Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS)
Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS)
Economic Research Service (USDA/ERS)
Food Safety Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS)
Office of Risk Assessment and Cost Benefit Analysis (USDA/ORACBA)
