FOODBORNE ILLNESS OUTBREAK SIMULATION WORKSHOP

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FOODBORNE ILLNESS OUTBREAK SIMULATION WORKSHOP
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Introductions
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Expectations

• Everyone will be working together in their
  respective groups
• Each group will have different issues to address
  and deal with
• Overall the goal is for the group to work
  together through a crisis situation

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You will be working together and role playing

• Groups
• Producers
• Commodity associations

• Other participants
• Media
• Regulators

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PRODUCERS
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PRODUCER GROUP 1 TARHEEL ACRES GROWERS

• Conventional, organic, transition organic
• Piedmont
• Large packing facility
• Pack for neighboring farms
• Mainly wholesale, Carrboro Farmers Market
• Raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries

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Producer group 2 Plott Hound Creek Farms

• Small-ish farmer
• Conventional production mainly
• Newton Grove
• Direct market foodservice, wholesale and farm
  stand
• Blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries

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Producer group 3 Rising Sun Farms

• Conventional
• Medium size farm
• Goldsboro
• Mainly wholesale, Raleigh Farmers Market
• Strawberries and blueberries
• Chicken houses adjacent to field

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Producer group 4 Strawberries -R- Us

• Small farm
• U-pick and farmstand
• Along I-95
• Eastern NC
• Strawberries

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COMMODITY ASSOCIATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS

• NC Strawberry Association
• NC Blueberry Council, Inc
• NC Commercial Blackberry and Raspberry Growers
  Association
• United Fresh Produce Association

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Media -- Our journalistic team

• News and Observer
• Charlotte Observer
• CNN
• Perez Hilton

• Late night television
• WRAL
• Twitter
• Google alerts

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NOVEMBER 10, 2011 -- PRESS RELEASE

• NC Department of Health says There are an
  increased number of illnesses which are linked
  together with a genetic fingerprint
• Hepatitis A
• 24 illnesses in 14 NC counties (all around state)
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  has been dispatched

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Hepatitis A

• Transmitted by fecal-oral route
• Human sewage
• Low infectious dose
• Incubation period
• 2-6 weeks
• Permanent immunity, vaccine available
• Very resistant to chemicals

• Hepatitis A associated with consumption of frozen
  strawberries Michigan, 1997
• Hepatitis A associated with consumption of frozen
  strawberries Georgia and Montana, 1990

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November 12, 2011 -- More information trickles out

• Outbreak in NC, and sporadic cases in VT, OR, and
  WA -- all genetic matches
• NC health officials have warned residents not to
  eat fresh strawberries because sufferers reported
  having eaten them
• OR Department of Health says may be associated
  with strawberries
• National conference call

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NOVEMBER 16, 2011 HEPATITIS A -- NC HEALTH
DEPARTMENT SAYS ITS STRAWBERRIES

• What do you do?
• Who do you call?
• What kind of things do you do to assess your
  system?
• What do you release to the media?

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November 17, 2011 -- Press conference

• Announced that it is strawberry-linked
• Mike Taylor, FDA food safety czar
• "It is always an upset to the industry when we
  have to put consumer advice out like this, but .
  . . we don't know which strawberries are causing
  the illnesses and we don't want to wait until we
  find out and then learn that people were getting
  sick.

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WHAT ELSE HAPPENS?

• Media attention
• Blogs, Twitter, and Youtube
• Increased testing of strawberries
• Buyer questions
• Local demand?
• Strawberry sales plummet

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Big Town Caterers

• Large company
• Made fruit salad and berry covered desserts
• Produce sourced by
• Rising Sun Farms
• Plott Hound Creek Farm

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Damage Control

• Strawberries-R-Us
• Increase in traffic on farm
• Consumers talking about how the outbreak scares
  them from purchasing at large stores

• Tarheel Acres Growers
• Contact neighboring farms to confirm they are
  using good agricultural practices
• Increase in demand for berries at Farmers market
  sell out of berries every weekend

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Industry investigations -- Looking for the source

• Discuss your distribution chain
• How do you prove it is not your farm?
• Documentation?
• Where has your product gone?
• Traceability?

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November 22, 2011 -- Outbreak has been traced to
Plott Hound Creek Farms
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Class I Recall

• Class I is a situation in which there is a
  reasonable probability that the use of, or
  exposure to, a violative product will cause
  serious adverse health consequences or death

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November 22, 2011 -- Recall

• How do you get the product back?
• Where did it go?
• What documentation do you need ?
• Other groups roles in this?

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FDA, CONDUCTING THE INVESTIGATION, ASKS FOR

• Flow charts
• Lab reports
• HACCP/SSOP records
• Production records
• Distribution records

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ON-FARM INVESTIGATION

• Where they might start looking on-farm
• Water
• Worker health and hygiene
• Wildlife

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NOVEMBER 24, 2011 -- MORE INFO ABOUT THE
IMPLICATED SITE ARISES

• Septic tank issues on farm
• Direct to store
• Implicated product went to consumers

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WINTER 2011 -- RECOVERY

• Outbreak is over
• Whats next?
• Who is affected?
• What needs to be done to get things back on track?

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SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?

• Be prepared for outbreaks
• Have a plan to manage a crisis
• Be available
• Monitor what people are saying about
  industry/products
• Use non-print methods
• Take control of the story