Winter 2000/2001
(Biennial Report)
In This Issue
ODA around the state & around the world
Administrative Services Division
Agricultural Development and Marketing Division
Animal Health and Identification Division
Food
Safety Division
“We continue to share and exchange information with our state and federal counterparts in order to make more efficient use of our resources.”
Mission
To ensure Oregon consumers receive a safe, wholesome and properly labeled food supply.
Budget
- General Fund $2,319,411
- Federal Funds $0
- Other Funds $3,826,093
- Total Funds $6,145,504
Staffing
The Food Safety Division has a staff of 40, including 33 field inspectors stationed around the state who operate out of their homes, working to make sure food is safe, wholesome and properly labeled.
What we do
The division licenses and inspects all facets of the food distribution system, except restaurants, including nearly 10,000 establishments. The division also assists in educating food companies and the public about overall food quality and safety concerns.
Food Program
The Food Program includes a wide variety of license types. Those include retail establishments, food processors, warehouses, bakeries, non alcoholic beverage plants, domestic kitchens, and egg handlers. Food Safety Division work in these areas includes sanitation inspection, equipment testing, product grade monitoring, and collection of samples for chemical and microbiological testing. The Food Program has seen the largest growth in the number and complexity of establishments.
Dairy Program
The interstate marketing of milk is regulated by the National Conference of Interstate Milk Shippers. One primary focus of the division’s Dairy Program, beyond assuring safe, wholesome milk and dairy products, is to enable interstate marketing of Oregon milk. This requires compliance with strict inspection, sampling and equipment testing programs for dairy farms and milk processors.
Meat Program
The Meat Program includes several license types. Those include meat sellers, slaughterhouse (USDA inspected facility), non-slaughtering processor, stationary custom slaughter, mobile slaughter and custom processor. The activities include inspection and sampling. Emerging pathogens and resulting illnesses have increased attention in this area. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is now implemented in all firms under USDA inspection.
Shellfish Program
The Shellfish Sanitation Program assures the safety of Oregon commercial shellfish and compliance with the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) standards for shipping shellfish interstate by monitoring shellfish growing waters and inspecting shellfish dealers’ sanitation. The division continues to meet the FDA’s strict standards for monitoring shellfish growing waters and inspecting plants to maintain Oregon’s shellfish dealers as certified for interstate shippers.
The program consists of three field staff, standardized to inspect and certify the interstate shellfish dealers, using computerized reporting. Six field staff and two boats makeup the bay sampling side of the program that assures water quality and shellfish safety in 11 certified shellfish growing areas.
The ODA Laboratory Services Division analyzes up to 200 bay water and 50 marine biotoxin samples per month as part of their support to the shellfish program.
Accomplishments
Food Program
- The Food Safety Division works with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a partnership and contract basis to perform food plant inspections. The division also works as a backup for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to perform grading inspections of seafood destined for export.
- The division continues to train and standardize its field staff to keep up with industry trends. Retail stores are moving into a variety of food service activities including full service kitchens (i.e., Chinese kitchens) and a variety of specially items (i.e., sushi). Many fast food chains are installing outlets in convenience stores.
- The division provides training to the staff and to the industry. Both need to be aware of how to evaluate new products and marketing trends to deliver safe products to the consumer.
Dairy Program
- In order to comply with the Interstate Milk Shippers Conference (IMS) ODA inspectors are required to inspect all dairy farms at least twice a year and all dairy plants at least four times a year. Department sanitarians also test all pasteurization equipment four times each year.
- Plants and farms must maintain a minimum score in order to be listed in the IMS publication. Failure to maintain the listing means that plants or farms may not market their products across state lines. During the last 24 months, there were no delistings of farms or plants.
Shellfish Program
- Twelve-year sanitary surveys of the shoreline and waters were completed in one area last year. These studies are required by the FDA for an area to continue certification as an interstate shellfish area. The impacts of potential pollution sources such as septic systems, marinas, agricultural practices, wastewater treatment plants and others are evaluated. Water quality sampling is intensified, especially during storm events, to determine the shellfish area’s management plan.
- ODA is assisted by the FDA, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) in conducting these surveys. Local residents play an important role in survey planning and deciding how the survey information can benefit the community.
- Oregon adopted new Shellfish Sanitation Rules, effective June 1999, which incorporated the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) concept. Interstate shellfish dealers are required to obtain HACCP training and must have a HACCP plan for shellfish safety. The FDA has provided HACCP standardization training to the Shellfish Program’s standardization officer who will train other field staff.
- Monitoring of marine biotoxins in commercial and recreational shellfish is critical to the shellfish program. There are upwards of 25 sampling sites on the coast and in the bays. The toxins of concern for the Pacific Northwest are PSP which causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning and Domoic Acid which causes Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP). Toxin levels are elevated more often and have reached higher levels than previous years of monitoring history. ODA will continue to keep the recreational public informed through news releases, web pages, and the shellfish information hot line.
General
- Dairy law has been reviewed and updated. There were several significant changes made; such as deleting the requirements for licensing and sampling retail frozen desserts and removing outdated language and requirements. Related dairy regulations are currently under review.
- Regulations are being written to address the dock-side filleting issue. Meetings were held with the industry to determine the major issues. ODFW and the State Police have been involved in the review.
- A meeting was held with the Farmers Market/Saturday Market organizations to discuss licensing and food safety issues. A decision was made to issue guidelines that the industry would voluntarily comply with rather than licensing. The division performed inspections during the summer to verify if the guidelines were being followed.
- The division has been involved in several significant enforcement actions. ODA staff worked with US Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials on a meat plant in Springfield that was selling uninspected meat. The final action was a suspension of the license and a fine of $25,000. In another case the division embargoed over 250 50-gallon barrels of honey that were produced in an unlicensed facility. The embargo also covered the possible adulteration of the honey with chemicals from a methamphetamine lab that was operating in the building.
Goals
- Complete the field automation portion of the computer program by electronically transferring all inspection records to the Salem office.
- Complete the adoption of the FDA Food Code into regulations. This process will be coordinated with the Oregon Health Division to give uniformity to the industries regulated.
- Develop a program plan to provide organic certification through the USDA National Organic Program. This may involve establishing and staffing a state certification program.
- Conduct public outreach programs in cooperation with OSU Extension, Health Division and county health departments to inform target audiences of significant food safety issues and improve food handling practices at the consumer level.
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