The Evolution of Food Safety - Home - IBMA Evolution of Food Safety ... •6000BC- First apparent reference to food spoilage ... thuringiensis has been the causative organism of some

The Evolution of Food Safety

Navigating the Crossroads Between Epidemiology and Biological Crop Protection

Copa Cogeca / IBMA workshop.28th March 2017, Brussels, BE.Rick Melnick, President, BioProtection Global

Copa Cogeca/IBMA workshop: Regulatory policy on Bacillus cereus and the risk of a future without microbial pesticides in Europe. 28th March 2017. Brussels, BE.

• What brings us here today?

• The early evolution of food safety and microbiology

• The early evolution of food safety and crop protection

• Brief history of Bt

• The Crossroads: Microbial Biocontrol Agents

Quick Agenda


BioProtection Global is a global association of biocontrol associations that includes IBMA(EU), BPIA (US), SABO (South Africa), ABC Bio (Brazil) and new members(in process) from Colombia, Japan, and India.

BPG strives to establish a global, united voice on issues germane to the science,understanding, and adoption of biocontrols.

About BioProtection Global

Why Are We Here?


We Share a Common Goal

We Take This Issue and Opportunity Very Seriously

We Support Our Regulators

Our Position Must Be a Science-Based Position

Why Are We Here?


Food safety is a highly complex and dynamic area that involves innumerable natural and man-made variables and systems.

Microbes and crop protection tools figure prominently in food safety.

Evolution of Food Safety and Microbiology


7000-1000BC

• 7000BC- Babylonians manufacture beer as a safer option than water to prevent cholera, dysentry and other diseases

• 6000BC- First apparent reference to food spoilage in history.

• 3500BC - Wine appears• 3000BC- Egyptians learn to make cheese and

butter as safer options to their raw counterparts.• 1000BC Snow and Salt food preservers of seafood

and meat.

The beginnings of our understanding about the relationship between food (& water) and microbiology dates back more than 9,000 years.



7000-1000BC

1683 - Anton Van Leewenhoek (NE) Describes bacteria under the microscope for the first time.

1683 1750 1850



7000-1000BC

1854 - Birth of epidemiology when John Snow traces Soho cholera outbreak to a water pump.1857- Luis Pasteur confirms that microbes are responsible for fermentation and putrefaction .Argues that microbes were also causative agents in disease. These arguments eventually reached an English surgeon named Joseph Lister who used them to develop the first aseptic surgical procedures.1857 -Theodor Escherich (GE) discovers E. coli1885 -Daniel Salmon (US) discovers Salmonella1897 -Van Ermengen discovers C. botulism

1683 1750 1850 1900



7000-1000BC

1876 – Robert Koch introduces beef extract to improve bacterial growth1882 – Fannie Hesse discovers agar for solid media1884 – Fredrick Loeffler introduces peptone into the standard Koch media1887 – Julius R. Petri invents the Petri plate

1683 1750 1850 1900



7000-1000BC

1880s – First food safety regulations begin to take shape in developed nations around the world.

1683 1750 1850 1900

Evolution of Food Safety and Crop Protection


1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

OrganophosphatesParathionParathion-

methyl

DimethoateDichlorvosMalathionDiazinon

Omethoate

ChlorpyrifosQuinalphos

PhoximFenitrothion

Methidathion

AcephateProfenophosProfenophosTriazophos

Methamidophos

PyraclofosFosthiazate

ChlorethoxyfosImicyafos

Pyrethroids

DeltamethrinCypermethrin

PermethrinFenvalerate

Lambda-cyhalothrinBifenthrinCyfluthrin

EsfenvalerateTefluthrin

EtofenproxFenpropathri

n

Zeta-cypermethrin

Gamma-cyhalothrin

Momfluorothrin

AcaricidesPropargiteCyhexatin

Bromoproppylate

Fenbutatin oxide

AmitrazAzocyclotin

HexythiazoxClofentezine

DiafenthiuronBifenazatePyridabenEtoxazole

Fenpyroximate

SpirodiclofenSpiromesifenCyenopyrafenCyflumetofenDiflovidazin

Pyflubumide

Carbamates Carbaryl

MethomylCarbofuran

CartapAldicarb

MethiocarbPrimicarb

CarbosulfanThiodicarb

Oxamyl

BenfuracarbFenoxycarb

Alanycarb

Neonicotinoids

ThiamethoxamImidaclopridAcetamipridNitenpyram

ClothianidinThiaclopridDinotefuran

Organochlorines

DDTLindane

ToxapheneChlordane

EndosulfanDicofolEndrin

BiologicalsBacillus

thuringiensisThiocyclam

AbamectinBensultap

SpinosadEmamectin Benzoate

Milbemectin

Spinetoram

LepimectinBacillus firmus

Various Botanicals

Development of synthetic chemistry advanced rapidly during and after WWII, and the introduction of new actives continued at a brisk pace into the 1970s

Evolution of Food Safety and Crop Protection


1940s -Development of DDT(Regulated by the US Department of Agriculture). Successful uses in Public Health and agriculture1949 – First laws pertaining to toxicity of chemicals in food

1901-1911 1940 1960 1970 1980 1990 20001950

1958 – First list of GRAS food additives is published by the US FDA1962 - Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is published, exposing hazards of DDT


• Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) was discovered in 1901 by Ishiwata Shigetane and was then isolated in 1911 by Ernst Berliner in Germany as the cause of a disease in flour moth caterpillar.

• It was first commercialized by Novo Nordisk in the early 1950s with the advent of industrial fermentation.

• The first commercial registration of Bt subsp. kurstaki (Thuricide) was granted in the US in 1961 and then in Europe in 1964.

A Brief History of Bt


The 1980s and 1990s marked a period of high activity in the biocontrols realm:

• A key focus in agronomic research

• A large amount of discovery but some lag in commercialization

• Challenges included efficacy, formulations, specificity

At the same time, regulatory pressure on the ag-chem industry began to mount

• FQPA

• REACH

The Crossroads: Microbial Biocontol Agents


The stage was set:

• Like other biocontrols, while Bt is not a chemical, it can often be lumped in with chemicals – particularly in the regulatory environment.

• In the 1980s, at the same time that scrutiny on agrochemicals began to rise dramatically and biocontrols began to gain momentum, B. cereusbecame known as a food pathogen for the first time.

• A challenge emerged, Bt was not easily distinguished from Bc using existing testing methods.


The Crossroads: Microbial Biocontrol Agents

Early 2000 2005 2010 2016

2002- Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 is published

laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the EFSA and laying down procedures in matters of food safety

- Article 14 states that food shall be deemed to be unsafe if it is considered to be injurious to health

2016 (June) – EFSA publishes the Risks for public health related to the presence of Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus spp. Including Bacillus thuringiensis in foodstuff. It recommends that the levels of B. cereus that can be considered as a risk for consumers are also valid for B. thuringiensis.

DGHM (Germany) Publishes the reference and warning values for microorganism in food. Values are recommendations and not legally binding.

In Nov 2016 it recommended the presumptive B. cereus reference and warning values of 5x102 - 103

CFU/g for mixed salad, packaged goods for delivery to the consumer.

2007 – EFSA publishes the Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) document.It indicates that “it is likely that B. thuringiensis has been the causative organism of some instances of food poisoning but identified as B. cereus because clinical investigations would have failed to recognize the distinguishing features characteristic of B. thuringiensis”.

2011 – Germany E. coli O104:H4 outbreak. In all, 3,950 people were affected and 53 died, 51 of whom were in Germany

2005 (Jan) – EFSA publishes the Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Biological Hazards on Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus spp in foodstuffs. It recommends that processors should ensure that numbers of B. cereus between 103 and 105 per g are not reached at the stage of consumption under anticipated conditions of storage and handling.

2007 (Dec) – Regulation (EC) No 1441/2007 amending Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs is published: Dried infant formulae and dried dietary foods for special medical purposes intended for infants below six months of age - Presumptive Bacillus cereus - 50 cfu/g to 500 cfu/g.


Thank you for your kind attention

Rick [email protected]


Trust the Science:

Bt provides a host of unique benefits to the food value chain:

• Highly efficacious against specific pests

• Safe for humans, bees, birds, fish, etc.

• Important resistance management tool

• Can be applied right up to harvest



Trust the Science:

The Empirical Data (50+ years of use) tells the story

If Bt were pathogenic to humans, the widespread and and longtime use of Bt would have provided us with undeniable evidence.

Instead, the widespread and longtime use of Bt has provided us with CLEAR evidence that supports its safety:



Trust the Science:

A recent statistical analysis on Bt use since 1993 estimates that

5,942,693,000,000 consumption events for produce treated with commercial Bt have occurred since 1993.



Trust the Science:

5,942,693,000,000 (5.94 x 1012) consumption events for produce treated with commercial Bt have occurred since 1993


Volume of One Green Pea:

1cm3Volume of One Pyramid at Giza:

2.58 x 1012cm3

Bt israelensis is approved by the WHO for application into drinking water!

Documents

The Evolution of Food Safety - Home - IBMA Evolution of Food Safety ... •6000BC- First apparent reference to food spoilage ... thuringiensis has been the causative organism of some