The Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse was created in 1997 in response to the May 1997 Report to the President on the National Food Safety Initiative. The Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), a collaboration between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the University of Maryland (UM), is responsible for the Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse is operated and directed by collaborators from FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and the University of Maryland. The mission of the Clearinghouse is to collect and catalogue available data and methodology on food safety risk analysis offered by the private sector, trade associations, federal and state agencies, and international sources.
http://www.foodriskclearinghouse.umd.edu

In this issue:

Welcoming Remarks:
From Kilo bytes to Terabytes
by Cristina McLaughlin, Interim Clearinghouse Coordinator

Meet the Clearinghouse Staff

Recent Additions to the Clearinghouse

Upcoming events

From Kilobytes to Terabytes

Welcome to the first issue of the Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse Newsletter. The main purpose of this newsletter is to keep indviduals interested in food safety risk issues aware of recent updates and events about once a month.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and the Clearinghouse staff, to the Food Safety Risk Analysis Community.

In addition to my detail as the Clearinghouse Coordinator, my permanent position since 1991 has been that of an FDA/CFSAN Economist. Most of my work at FDA involves finding out new data sources or new methods to help integrate risk assessments into cost benefit analyses of FDA food safety regulations. In addition to using very sophisticated mathematics such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, some of my previous work included using Monte Carlo techniques in assessing the acute hazards of a dietary supplement, estimating the costs of FDA's juice HACCP rule, estimating the costs of the Shell Egg Refrigeration Rule and assessing the economic impact of mycotoxins in the United States. My main area of interest is in Risk Analysis and Risk Assessment of issues related to food and the public health. In a previous life, I used to work for a Government contractor interpreting satellite imagery and survey data that I would later compile into GIS generated maps which identified high flood risk areas in North Carolina or future highway locations for the State of Maryland. If I only had access to the amount of RAM then that I have today.

When I joined the FDA in 1991, the Internet was practically in diapers, and using it to find information that would help address some risk analyses issues was a daunting task.

Things are a little different now: Terabytes of public and private information can be accessed or downloaded through the Internet. However, with this much information available, most of my time is spent assessing the quality of the information, organizing it or "deep web harvesting" --Anyone trying to directly find very specific information in any government website without having to burrow through layers and layers of html pages will be able to appreciate the term.

All this may explain my interest in the Clearinghouse. As data sources are growing and are becoming more available, new questions are also emerging that need to be addressed, especially in the area of Food Safety Risk Analysis.

With this said, I would like to extend an invitation to all those interested in Food Safety Risk Analysis to become engaged in the Clearinghouse activities by either becoming a member researcher, sending us your links, data, papers, presentations, etc. Your active participation will help the Clearinghouse achieve its purpose: To address and meet the information and data needs of professionals involved in any of the many aspects of food safety risk analysis.

The benefits of becoming a member researcher of the Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse are:

· Increase awareness of your contributions to the field of food safety risk analysis.
· You will receive the Clearinghouse newsletter with updates such as new data holding announcements and new events, via e-mail about once a month.
· Announcements to your events will be posted and disseminated through the web- site and the newsletter.
· Membership is free and open to all interested individuals.

Become a member by clicking on
http://www.foodriskclearinghouse.umd.edu/researcher_database.cfm

I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Wendy Fineblum, the former Clearinghouse Coordinator, whose past efforts have left the Clearinghouse with a great IT framework and an exceptional staff.

Meet the Clearinghouse Staff

With expertise in many areas such as computer science, web and IT development, database management, math, statistics, biology, physical science and library science the Team brings a diverse set of skills to bear on designing and developing the features of the Clearinghouse.

Click here to see picture of Clearhinghouse staff. (From left to right: Jennifer, Cristina, Gi and Hitesh)

Hitesh Patel
IT Coordinator

Hitesh has been working fulltime as a Web Application Developer at the Clearinghouse since February 2002. Since starting his work in the Clearinghouse, Hitesh has been instrumental in several Clearinghouse projects. He has investigated and begun implementing desired changes to the site that would allow access to visually impaired individuals, he has made new web content available in a number of formats to best serve a variety of users, he has done countless trouble shooting and site design improvements, and is now developing a novel search engine that can be used on both HTML and dynamically generated Cold Fusion pages. Hitesh received a MS degree in Computer Science from American University. His programming experience includes HTML, Cold Fusion, Java and C++, as well as a great deal of database experience.

Jennifer Hinton
Student Librarian

Jennifer is responsible for cataloguing and indexing new items on the Clearinghouse site. Her contributions to the site include improving the structure and organization of information on the site, finding new material, and improving the indexing of documents so that information will be easily accessed by the user.

Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Maryland, where she is working towards her Master of Library Science degree. Her primary area of interest is information structure.

Gi Nguyen
Student Programmer

Gi's responsibility at the Clearinghouse is to maintain the web server and to create new web pages. He has been a staff member of the clearinghouse for more than two years.

Gi received his first Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park. He is currently working on getting his other degrees in computer engineering, biology, and math at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. His primary area of interest is artificial intelligence and robotic development. He hopes to someday work for the government in those areas. His unique combination of skills and interest make him a very valuable asset to the Clearinghouse.

Robert Wynne
Student Programmer

Rob is responsible for maintenance and troubleshooting of the Clearinghouse site. His contributions to the site include graphic design and inspection for Section 508 compatibility.

Rob is a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, majoring in computer science. Upon obtaining his Bachelor of Science at graduation, he also hopes to receive his Bachelor of Arts in Music. Rob plays clarinet for
the University of Maryland Marching Band, Pep Band, and various on-campus ensembles.

Recent Additions to the Clearinghouse

For top five recent additions by category or last weeks additions click on:
http://www.foodriskclearinghouse.umd.edu/new.htm

The Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse is the only on-line repository for the two new following data sets and reports. For Clearinghouse Exclusive items click on
http://www.foodriskclearinghouse.umd.edu/clearinghouse_exclusive.cfm

Analysis of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Survey Data (July 2001)

A three phase survey conducted by Research Triangle Institute (RTI) under contract with FDA of 17,000 food manufacturing plants under FDA jurisdiction. The purpose of this survey was to determine the current food safety practices in the food processing industry and to estimate the costs of implementing a HACCP plan. Items: 1 report in pdf format. Data in access, xls and ascii format--coming soon.

Survey of Manufacturing Practices in the Dietary Supplement Industry (May 17,2000)

A survey conducted by Research Triangle Institute (RTI) under contract with FDA of 966 dietary supplement establishments. The purpose of this survey was to learn about the current manufacturing practices and what constitutes GMP's in the industry. Items 1 report in pdf format.

Upcoming events

http://www.foodriskclearinghouse.umd.edu/upcoming_meetings.cfm

A few selected events are posted in the newsletter. For a complete list of events click on the link above.

Introduction to Economics for Risk Analysis
http://www.jifsan.umd.edu/pro_training.htm#target5
Source: Food Safety Risk Analysis Professional Development Training Program, Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Event Info: College Park, MD: Course provides a basic understanding of economic terminology, explains how costs and benefits are derived, and shows how to incorporate results of cost benefit analyses into risk management decisions. Cost is $445 for industry members and $345 for those in government/academia, and you must register by July 15, 2002
Event Date: 07/29/2002- 07/31/2002

Risk Communication Challenge
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ccpe/programs/RCCB.shtml
Source: Center for Continuing Professional Education, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University
Event Info: Brussels, Belgium: This course presents expert instruction combined with real-world examples of successes and failures in risk communication. The course costs $2000 for industry professionals, $1800 for academic and government professionals, and $500 for students
Event Date: 09/10/2002- 09/12/2002

Developing and Implementing HACCP for Meat and Poultry Plants
http://www.nmaonline.org/NEWS___INFO/Events/Seminars/seminars.html
Source: National Meat Association
Event Info: Los Angeles, CA: This course is cosponsored by the Animal Science Department of Texas A&M University. The course curriculum is structured to provide hands-on training in developing a HACCP program for all types of meat slaughtering and processing facilities. This will include case studies and small group working sessions determined by the makeup of the class (i.e. slaughter, ground beef, cooked sausage, cooked products, dry salami, bacon). The registration fee is $775 for members, $870 for non-members, and $350 for academic/government
Event Date: 10/03/2002- 10/05/2002

Workshop: Using CSFII Food and Nutrient Intake Data, Related Data from the DHKS, and the Technical Support Files
http://www.barc.usda.gov/bhnrc/foodsurvey/workshop.html
Source: Food Surveys Research Group, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Event Info: Beltsville, MD: In this in-depth, hands-on workshop, you will learn to browse and manipulate the survey data and the technical support files. You will receive a copy of the dataset and technical databases on CD-ROM, as well as a guidebook on using them. The workshop is free, but attendance is limited, so register early
Event Date: 10/08/2002- 10/09/2002

Risk, Insurance and Safety Management Conference
http://www.fmi.org/events/confmain.cfm?meetings_id=264
Source: Food Marketing Institute
Author: Risk, Insurance and Safety Management Committee, Food Marketing Institute
Event Info: Charleston, SC: Bringing Order to Chaos Through Safety and Risk Management: Making the Business Case. Sessions include "Countermeasures to Terrorism: Plans and Preparations," "Removing Retention Hazards," and more. Registration fees are $650 for members, $935 for associate members, and $1,100 for non-members
Event Date: 10/27/2002- 10/30/2002

Seminars in Health Services Research Methods: Using Federal and State Databases
http://www.academyhealth.org/seminars/fall2002/
Source: Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy
Event Info: Washington, DC: Sessions at this conference include "From Research to Presentation," an overview of how to find health statistics, data, and other resources and of how to report your findings, and indepth sessions on the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), National Health Care Survey, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and VA sources of health services data. Registration for the full conference is $425 for members and $525 for non-members if you register before September 27, 2002. After this date, registration fees become $475 and $575 respectively
Event Date: 11/04/2002- 11/06/2002