The US Department of Agriculture (USDA's) new Predictive Microbiology Information Portal (PMIP) will no doubt be a useful tool for smaller food manufacturers and processors, who do not always have the same amount of funds as global companies to use for complying with food safety regulations.
"This builds on our extensive efforts to provide more resources and better tools to the small and very small plants so they can enhance the safety of their products," said Al Almanza, administrator of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The PMIP is focused on processors with 500 or fewer employees, Almanza said, and offers information on a variety of topics such as Listeria and ready-to-eat foods.
Any processors who access the site are immediately greeted with a welcome message that assures prospective readers that it is the most "comprehensive" website to assist with food safety.
The reader is then led to a tutorial section which contains three sections; predictive models for foodborne pathogens, regulatory policies and guidelines, and microbial data.
The FSIS will also work at providing a quick and easy access for meat and poultry processors, as their products have the highest risk of carrying foodborne pathogens, Almanza explained.
"Scientists, food safety risk managers, researchers and government decision-makers can use this access to predictive modeling tools and food microbiology information," said Edward B. Knipling, administrator of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
"The portal is geared towards small and very small processors, but the information it contains will benefit companies of all sizes," he added.
In July, the government allocated an additional $38m to the USDA for the inspection of meat and poultry, and $48m to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), after a year of contamination outbreaks associated with spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and peanut butter.
The financial year (FY) 2008
Agriculture Appropriations Bill boosts funding for the FDA to $1.755bn, an increase of nearly $186m above the FY2007 level.
About $11m of this increase is expected to help create rapid response teams that can fight contamination outbreaks as soon as they occur.
Another $6m will be dedicated to research on food safety issues, including the reduction of microbial contamination in produce and new rapid screening methods to identify pathogens in food samples as early in the food chain as possible.
The FDA has also this year agreed to share scientific information with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
A report published earlier this year by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals a 50 percent increase in E coli infections since 2004, and a monstrous 78 percent increase in Vibrio infections - caused by eating raw shellfish - over the past decade.
The center estimates that 76 million Americans get sick and 5,000 die from foodborne hazards each year in the United States.
Website: http://portal.arserrc.gov/