FOOD IRRADIATION UPDATE
February 20, 2004
Food Irradiation Update is published by the
Minnesota Beef Council
Lakeland, Fla., Food Technology Services' Stock
Soars after Salmonella Scare
USDA grants Approval for Clemens'
Irradiator
New Shareholder at Linac
Technologies
Beef Ambassadors at
Cattle Industry Convention
Buffalo, N.Y.-Area
supermarkets; Tops, Wegmans stop getting irradiated beef
National Center for
Electron Beam Food Research Offering International Workshop
Food Irradiation Education Activities
Lakeland, Fla.,
Food Technology Services' Stock Soars after Salmonella Scare; (February 4,
2004)
The Ledger, Lakeland, Fla. Knight-Ridder Tribune via FSNET; By Adrian Zawada:
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Food Technology Services Inc.'s stock was cited as soaring 82
percent Monday to its highest price in more than two years, prompted by a
government warning about salmonella poisoning in the Northeast United States.
Matt Baun, spokesman for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service was
cited as saying that USDA issued a health warning last week after
food-poisoning victims reported eating ground beef, some even ingesting raw
meat, adding, "It was enough for us to warn consumers that ground beef may
be the root of infections in this case."
The story notes that investors snapped up Food Technology shares because the
company is a leading meat and poultry irradiator, employing gamma radiation to
disinfect food from insects, extend the shelf life of meat and eliminate
disease-causing microorganisms.
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a salmonella
outbreak of at least 37 cases in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New York and Vermont, Christine Pearson, an agency spokeswoman,
said.
USDA
Grants Approval for Clemens' Irradiator; (Feb. 20, 2004) Meatingplace.com; By: Daniel
Yovich: Milford Township, Penn.-based CFC Logistics has won USDA approval to
irradiate ground beef and poultry at its 50,000 square-foot cold storage
warehouse, and has begun treating ground beef for two of its customers.
CFC Logistics is a division of the Clemens Family Corp., the
holding company that owns Hatfield, Penn.-based Hatfield Quality Meats. USDA
granted the company approval Feb. 13, after conducting a site inspection and
reviewing the company's HACCP plan.
"We've been in contact with a lot of beef companies lately,
and have been running samples for them, but now we are ready for full-fledged
production with meat," said CFC Logistics President Jim Wood. "This
is good news for the industry, and good news for the customers. Gamma
irradiation penetrates foods thoroughly and evenly and our customers are
telling us that the results are as good, if not better than the electron
beam".
Wood said two of the many beef companies that were testing products
at CFC Logistics have begun scheduling truckloads for irradiation, and a third
company that sells to the federal school lunch program will also be irradiating
beef as soon as the government paperwork is complete. Wood declined to identify
the customers.
Currently, CFC Logistics is the only USDA-approved irradiator in
the country operating within a cold storage facility, and one of only two
companies in the nation treating meat with irradiation in the wake of San
Diego-based SureBeam Corp.'s January bankruptcy.
New
Shareholder at Linac Technologies;
(19 January 2004) From a press release:
ORSAY, FRANCE:
Linac Technologies, a world leader in the field of sterilization in the health
and food industries based in Orsay, France has announced that due to the growing
number of applications of its products, La Calhene became a major shareholder
in the company on January 7th.
La Calhene, a
worldwide specialist in containment suites and transfers for the health and
food markets, has an annual turnover of 40 million Euros and a workforce of 250
people based in France, USA and the UK.
Jean-Pierre
Brossard, Deputy General Manager of La Calhene, has become chief operating
officer of Linac Technologies and will be assisted in the management of the
company by:
·
Didier Morisseau, Executive
General Manager, Technical and Production,
·
Philippe Fontcuberta,
Manager of Food industry activities at La Calhene, who will be Executive
General Manager, Sales and Marketing.
Dr Theo Sadat will continue to be
involved in the development of the company, as an advisor.
Through this
partnership, Linac Technologies will continue to take up the vital challenge of
expansion, while meeting the needs of their existing clients and commercial
partners.
Linac Technologies
designs, manufactures, supplies, installs and services electron beam
accelerators specifically for industrial use. Linac Technologies produces three
major groups of accelerators; low energy accelerators (KeVAC), medium energy
machines (MeVAC) and high energy machines (CIRCE). All Linac Technologies
accelerators comply with FDA, AAMI and European standards.
Linac
Technologies supplies turnkey units and in-line sterilization units. www.linactechnologies.com
or www.lacalhene.com
Beef
Ambassadors at Cattle Industry Convention -- National Beef Ambassadors from four
states attended the recent Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Phoenix.
Devin Murnin of Montana said he found the workshop "Talk Smart On Beef
Safety: Tips On Irradiated Ground Beef" to be the most interesting.
Chelsea Good of Colorado was excited about Barb Wilkinson's workshop
"Charting the Course." Dustin Taylor of Florida said he enjoyed
the Leadership Workshop presented by ANCW Executive Director Marcie Hervey.
Sarah Bradbury of Texas presented her award-winning speech at the ANCW Board of
Directors/Membership meeting. For
information on having the National Beef Ambassador Team assist with your next
event, please contact Carol Abrahamzon (ANCW), cabrahamzon@beef.org or 507/724-1318.
Buffalo,
N.Y.-Area supermarkets tops, Wegmans stop getting irradiated beef; (February 6, 2004) By Matt Glynn, The
Buffalo News, NY: Wegmans and Tops Markets have, according to this story,
stopped selling irradiated ground beef, but they hope to find another supplier
and bring it back to their shelves.
The stores'
supplier, California-based SureBeam, shut down in mid-January after it filed
for bankruptcy. Wegmans had been selling fresh irradiated ground beef in its
supermarkets since May 2002, and Tops followed about a year ago. Wegmans is notifying customers of
the change on its Web site and by posting
signs in its stores, said Jeanne Colleluori, a Wegmans spokeswoman. The chain
also mailed postcards to 26,000 customers who were repeat buyers of the
product.
National
Center for Electron Beam Food Research Offering International Workshop; (January 16, 2004) from a press
release: COLLEGE STATION—"Food
Irradiation: Discussing the International Research and Policy Agenda" will
be offered by the National Center for Electron Beam Food Research on March 30 -
April 2. The International workshop will bring key researchers and key policy
advocates from around the world to College Station," said Suresh Pillai,
director. National Electron Beam Food Research Center. "The workshop
should pave the way for identifying key steps in globally diffusing irradiation
as a food pathogen preventative measure."First introduced as a technology
with value to society in the 1930s, electron beam linear acceleration joined
other irradiation technologies as a PDA-approved food sanitary method in 1986.
The
International workshop continues despite a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing by
SureBeam Corp. SureBeam and Texas A&M had a ten-year, $10 million research
contract. The San Diego-based food irradiation technology company filed
bankruptcy after failing to reach terms on loans with primary creditors.
"We
don't foresee a major impact on our activities," said Suresh Pillai,
director, National Center for Electron Food Research. "The Center is a
federally funded project, and some of the planned research and all of the
outreach activities will continue."
Pillai
said the Institute anticipates continued electronic irradiation processing as a
food safety preventative measure. "SureBeam provided irradiation services
for a variety of clients to ensure pathogen-free products," Pillai said.
"Hopefully other commercial entities will enter this business to provide
the customers the guaranteed, safe foods we all deserve."
The
Electron Beam Food Research Facility is operated under the Institute of Food
Science & Engineering. Mark McLellan, Institute of Food Science &
Engineering director, said the Institute intends to fully cooperate with the
bankruptcy court. "Even though SureBeam Corp. no longer exists we plan to
retain the capacity of the electron beam technology and continue to be engaged
in numerous contracts with the federal government and others regarding use of
this technology," McLellan said.
At
Texas A&M, SureBeam owned the linear acceleration technology used to
irradiate products, Texas A&M owns the Electron Beam Food Research Facility
itself. McLellan said the technical staff operating the facility are all
A&M employees.
"We
will be seeking relief and ownership of the equipment during the bankruptcy
process," McLellan said. "We are still committed to the technology as
a critical answer to delivering a safe food supply. There are very few other
answers for delivering safety in challenging products like ground beef,
poultry, RTE foods and shellfish." McLellan said the National Electron
Beam Food Research Center plans continued service to the food safety industry.
A
program agenda and list of speakers for the International Workshop can be seen
on the Web at
http://ifse.tamu.edu/public/intemational.pdf. For additional information contact; Mark McLellan, (979) 862-2036;
Contact: Suresh Pillai, (979) 845-2994; Contact: Andy Vestal (979) 862-2032.
Irradiated Foods Booklet Provides Science-based Information on Food
Irradiation: The American Council on Science
& Health booklet on irradiated foods can
be downloaded from: www.acsh.org/publications/booklets/irradiated2003.html.
Food Irradiation Education
Activities:
The
Minnesota Beef Council will be assisting with, conducting or participating in
the following irradiation education activities:
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Ronald F. Eustice
Executive
Director
Minnesota
Beef Council
2950
Metro Drive # 102
Bloomington,
MN 55425
USA
Phone:
952/854-6980
Fax:
952/854-6906
E-mail:
ron@mnbeef.org
Website:
www.mnbeef.org