Food Safety Network - Doug Powell

Doug Powell isn't taking the weekend off; here are a couple of items from creator of the International Food Safety Network:


MANHATTAN — Outbreaks of Salmonella in tomatoes and E. coli O157:H7 in romaine lettuce have once again raised questions about the safety of fresh produce."Fresh fruits and vegetables are the most significant sources of foodborne illness today in the United States," said Douglas Powell,associate professor and scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University. "Because fresh produce is not cooked, anything that comes into contact is a possible source of contamination."Powell said wash water, irrigation water, manure in soil, even contact with animals or humans, can introduce dangerous microorganisms onto fresh produce. There is evidence that bacteria like Salmonella and E.coli can enter fruit like tomatoes and cantaloupes, and leafy greens such as spinach and lettuce, making removal extremely difficult."The farm is the first line of defense." Powell said. "Whether your produce comes from around the corner or around the globe, contamination must be prevented on the farm."Powell has more than 10 years experience in developing, implementing and assessing on-farm food safety programs for fresh produce.A brief review of pathogens in produce is available at:http://tinyurl.com/6ypdadA table of tomato-related North American outbreaks is available at:http://tinyurl.com/6oqv67A table of known outbreaks of verotoxigenic E. coli -- including but not limited to E. coli O157:H7 -- associated with fresh spinach and lettuce is available at: http://tinyurl.com/586azl
Dr. Douglas Powell
associate professor scientific director International Food Safety Network
(iFSN)dept. diagnostic medicine/pathobiology
Kansas State UniversityManhattan, KS66506
cell: 785-317-0560


Doug Powell, food scientist and creator of the International Food Safety Network, an online repository of food-safety related information, joined K-State as an associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine's department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology in May 2006.

The International Food Safety Network is a collection of individuals who passionately care about reducing the burden of foodborne illness and seek innovative ways to compel everyone in the farm-to-fork food safety system -- individual producers, retail employees, and consumers, among others -- to acknowledge and adopt best practices to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Under Powell's supervision, researchers and students with the network conduct research, provide commentary, policy evaluation and public information on a range of food safety issues such as the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables, restaurant inspection discloures sytems and human behavior. Powell also conducts research in food safety risk analyss, especially whether food-safety information is having its intended effect of influencing the practices of consumers and those in the food industry. The network also produces four electronic mail lists that are sent around the world each day: Food Safety Network, FSNet; Agriculture Network, AgNet; Animal Network, AnimalNet; and Functional Food Network, FFNet.

Powell co-authored the 1997 book, "Mad Cows and Mother's Milk: The Perils of Poor Risk Communication," which explores case studies where institutions fail to communicate the scientific basis of high-profile risks in food safety. Among the cases discussed are the 1996 mad cow disease outbreak in Britain and the emergence of E. coli in hamburger in the early 1990s.

Subscribing to any of the International Food Safety Network e-mail lists is free and can be done at the Food Safety Network Web site, http://www.foodsafety.k-state.edu/en/

International Food Safety Network also maintains barfblog, a forum for musing about current food safety issues.

Powell can be reached at 785-317-0560, or via e-mail at dpowell@k-state.edu.