Global Food Safety

Chemstar Partners with EPA's Design for the Environment

The Design for the Environment (DfE) program is one of EPA's premier partnership programs, working with individual industry sectors to compare and improve the performance and human health and environmental risks and costs of existing and alternative products, processes, and practices. DfE partnership projects promote integrating cleaner, cheaper, and smarter solutions into everyday business practices. DfE is the chemical conduit to EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and their chemical expertise, information resources, and guidance on greener chemistry.   
DfE provides decision-makers with information, tools, and incentives to make informed decisions that integrate risk, performance, and cost concerns. A DfE project   provides many benefits, including:

• Reduced health, safety, and ecological risks.
  
• Increased efficiency and broader customer acceptance.
  
• Improved worker morale and productivity.    
  
• Reduced regulatory burden.
  
• Improved channels of communication, cooperation, and collaboration among stakeholder organizations.  
  

The DfE process promotes voluntary environmental improvement by addressing industries' need for key information on how to incorporate environmental concerns into business decisions. The process systematically:

• Identifies the array of technologies, products, and processes that can be used to perform a particular function within an industry and related pollution prevention opportunities.
  
• Evaluates and compares the risk, performance, and cost tradeoffs of the alternatives.
  
• Disseminates this information to the entire industry community.
  
• Encourages and enables use of this information by providing mechanisms and incentives to institutionalize continuous environmental improvement. 

DfE Partnerships:

Once a product has met the strict protocol established by DfE in conjunction with Greenblue, a three year partnership agreement is established between DfE and the company. This partnership memorandum of understanding allows the formulating company to use the DfE Logo on its label for the recognized products.

The DfE review team screens each ingredient in the product for potential human health and environmental effects and that - based on currently available information, predictive models, and expert judgment - the product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern among chemicals in their class.

By focusing on potential products at the component level, DfE is able to carefully scrutinize formulations and address potential concerns based on both the individual ingredients and possible negative synergies between these ingredients. This approach allows the uncovering of chemicals that can be masked by raw material blends or by dilution with water.

DO IT RIGHT!
Handling  Recalls

Every retail food establishment sees recall notices on a fairly frequent basis.  Sent out by the manufacturer, some recall notices may involve simply removing from sale a few mislabeled cans with no health implication. At other times more care must be taken if the recall involves a problem that could cause adverse health consequences.

The current nationwide recall of certain canned human food and dog food products manufactured by Castleberry Food Company of Augusta, GA requires minute attention to detail because of deadly botulinum toxin.  The FDA and USDA are asking retailers and foodservice establishments to respond immediately to this or any future recall involving botulism:

1. Remove and secure recalled products.
   
2. Follow instructions from the company or its distribution centers for removing, marking and securing the products; tag for pick-up or disposal as directed.
   
3. Separate recalled products from other stock immediately and identify with signs that the products pose an extreme health hazard.  Consider shrink-wrapping the separated products.
   
4. If possible, use additional safeguards, such as locking out the UPC codes at check-out, and inform cashiers not to override the lockout.
   
5. Insure that recalled products are not diverted to food banks or to food or pet food salvage operations. 
   
6. Do not puncture or otherwise open cans prior to disposal.
   
7. Do not place recalled products in unsecured garbage cans where they could be removed.  Do not discard any of the recalled food in a sink, garbage disposal or toilet. 
   
8. Use special care when handling opened cans of recalled product.  Wear rubber gloves and avoid contact with skin or eyes.  Sponges, cloths, rags and gloves that may have come into contact with contaminated food should be discarded with the food.  Wash hands thoroughly (2 minutes) after handling suspect food or containers.
   
9. Place any opened containers of the recalled products or any foods made with those products in a sealable plastic bag, which should then be placed inside two additional plastic bags and taped tightly closed.  Place the sealed taped bags in a secure trash receptacle for non-recyclable trash.
   
10. Wipe up spills using a bleach solution (use ¼ cup bleach per 2 cups water).  Cover the spill and let soak with layers of paper towels for fifteen minutes.  See detailed instructions at www.cdc.gov/botulism/botulism_faq.htm and www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsbotul.html.

Did You Know?

Food borne botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by consuming foods contaminated with botulinum toxin.  Produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, this nerve toxin can cause paralysis or even death.  The toxin may form in foods that have been improperly canned or in other anaerobic environments.

For more information
Visit us online at
www.chemstarcorp.com