FOODBORNE ILLNESS OUTBREAK SIMULATION WORKSHOP

INTRODUCTIONS

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

YOU WILL BE WORKING TOGETHER AND ROLE PLAYING

Groups: Producers Commodity associations

Other participants: Media Regulators

PRODUCERS

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

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

PRODUCER GROUP 3: RISING SUN FARMS

Conventional Medium size farm Goldsboro Mainly wholesale, Raleigh Farmers’ Market Strawberries and blueberries

Chicken houses adjacent to field

PRODUCER GROUP 4: STRAWBERRIES -R- US

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

Strawberries

COMMODITY ASSOCIATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS

NC Strawberry Association NC Blueberry Council, Inc NC Commercial Blackberry and Raspberry Growers Association

United Fresh Produce Association

MEDIA -- OUR JOURNALISTIC TEAM

News and Observer Charlotte Observer

CNN Perez Hilton

Late night television

WRAL Twitter Google alerts

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

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

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

NOVEMBER 16, 2011 HEPATITIS A -- NC HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAYS IT’S 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?

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.”

WHAT ELSE HAPPENS?

Media attention Blogs, Twitter, and Youtube

Increased testing of strawberries Buyer questions Local demand? Strawberry sales plummet

BIG TOWN CATERERS

Large company Made fruit salad and berry covered desserts

Produce sourced by Rising Sun Farms Plott Hound Creek Farm

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 Farmer’s market – sell out of berries every weekend

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?

NOVEMBER 22, 2011 -- OUTBREAK HAS BEEN TRACED TO PLOTT HOUND CREEK FARMS

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

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?

FDA, CONDUCTING THE INVESTIGATION, ASKS FOR:

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

ON-FARM INVESTIGATION

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

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

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

WINTER 2011 -- RECOVERY

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

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