Rapid Detection Of Pathogens Is High Priority In Need Of Technology
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
FDA Associate Commissioner for Foods David Acheson says the search continues for an "out-of-the-box" technology to rapidly detect salmonella in foods starting in 2009
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FDA Associate Commissioner for Foods David Acheson says the search continues for an "out-of-the-box" technology to rapidly detect salmonella in foods starting in 2009. Acheson discussed food safety at a May 18 meeting of FDA's Science Board in Rockville, Md. In a report to the agency, the board said rapid detection of pathogens in regulated products should be FDA's top scientific priority. The rapid detection project is "mission critical," appears achievable and cuts across multiple FDA centers, including the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the board said. FDA is on board with rapid detection, having made it a cross-center, multi-year priority (1 (Also see "FDA Prioritizes Rapid Detection Of Food Contaminants" - Pink Sheet, 2 Mar, 2009.), p. 8). Acheson said subject matter experts from multiple agencies met March 19. One participant, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, will sponsor workshops in June and July to solicit input from academia and the technology industry. Acheson said he hopes a rugged, portable and robust testing technology will emerge from the workshops, but acknowledged the subsequent challenge will be rolling out new technology to state-level health authorities. States currently use pulsed-field gel electrophoresis - which Acheson called accurate but old and slow - to test for salmonella. Science Board member Rhona Applebaum, chief scientific and regulatory officer for Coca-Cola, told Acheson the food industry wants something akin to a "pregnancy test for salmonella" that could quickly say if a food sample is contaminated. Acheson said in an interview he expects feedback from food firms during the technology evaluation process, but rapid detection is not intended to directly benefit the industry. "This is a tool for regulators and the government to use, we're not doing this to develop a tool for the industry to use," he said. "But if there's spin-off that the industry can benefit from, then that's wonderful." - Dan Schiff ([email protected]) |