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Matt Baun

Murano Announces Office of New Technology At Food Inspection Agency

NEW ORLEANS, August 12, 2003 - U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Elsa Murano today announced the establishment of the New Technology Office to be based within the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

FSIS reviews new technologies that companies employ to ensure that their use is consistent with Agency regulations and that they will not adversely affect product safety, inspection procedures, or the safety of FSIS inspectors.   Although companies are not required to submit new technologies for FSIS review, Murano said that companies would benefit from doing so because they can avoid delays to their operations.

Murano said that one of the reasons that the New Technology Office was created was to streamline the implementation of new technologies in a plant's operations and reduce the amount time it takes the agency to review safe new technologies.

"The combination of science and new technologies offers endless possibilities for success in our fight against foodborne illness," said Murano. "The New Technology Office will place greater emphasis on encouraging the use of new technologies that can help reduce pathogens on meat and poultry products."

The New Technology Office will incorporate the functions of FSIS' Technology Program Development Staff.  The New Technology Office will manage the review process for experimental protocols for studies conducted by industry, in addition to handling the assessments related to new uses of approved substances and labeling considerations for these technologies.

To increase the pool of new technology submissions, the New Technology Office will also work closely with academic researchers who are affiliated with USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.  In Fiscal Year 2003, $500,000 was allocated in order to facilitate the adaptation of new technologies in small meat and poultry plants.

In addition, the New Technology Office will soon launch a website that will provide summaries of the new technologies under review along with their approval status and allow interested groups to learn more about how to have their products or ideas considered.

In the interim, FSIS has established an e-mail address, FSISTechnology@fsis.usda.gov, to encourage the expanded use of new technologies by allowing interested parties to submit their information on-line.

New technologies have resulted in significant improvements in the safety of meat and poultry in recent years.  Steam vacuums, steam pasteurization and antimicrobials are all examples of advances in food safety technology that have occurred.

Today's announcement is one of the key elements in USDA's "food safety vision" that Murano outlined last month.  The document, which is available www.fsis.usda.gov, identifies several strategies to improve the safety of the U.S. food supply including programs to improve workforce training, best management practices and risk analysis coordination as well as a comprehensive food safety research agenda.  Details on these programs will be announced in the coming weeks.

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