Author Topic: FDA now over-regulating cheese  (Read 5745 times)

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Offline richb

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FDA now over-regulating cheese
« on: June 08, 2014, 10:20:52 PM »
In spite of thousands of years of aging cheese on wood boards without problem,  the FDA has now made that verboten.    Or as they claim,  its always been the rule.   Hmmmmmmmm,,,,,,

http://joeforamerica.com/2014/06/game-changer-fda-rules-wooden-boards-cheese-aging/


Online Pandora

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2014, 12:09:06 AM »
Quote
A sense of disbelief and distress is quickly rippling through the U.S. artisan cheese community, as the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week announced it will not permit American cheesemakers to age cheese on wooden boards.

Metz stated that the use of wood for cheese ripening or aging is considered an unsanitary practice by FDA, and a violation of FDA’s current Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations. Here’s an excerpt:

“Microbial pathogens can be controlled if food facilities engage in good manufacturing practice. Proper cleaning and sanitation of equipment and facilities are absolutely necessary to ensure that pathogens do not find niches to reside and proliferate. Adequate cleaning and sanitation procedures are particularly important in facilities where persistent strains of pathogenic microorganisms like Listeria monocytogenes could be found. The use of wooden shelves, rough or otherwise, for cheese ripening does not conform to cGMP requirements, which require that “all plant equipment and utensils shall be so designed and of such material and workmanship as to be adequately cleanable, and shall be properly maintained.” 21 CFR 110.40(a). Wooden shelves or boards cannot be adequately cleaned and sanitized. The porous structure of wood enables it to absorb and retain bacteria, therefore bacteria generally colonize not only the surface but also the inside layers of wood. The shelves or boards used for aging make direct contact with finished products; hence they could be a potential source of pathogenic microorganisms in the finished products.”

A relevant and pertinent comment at one of the contained links:

Quote
Nate Lee5:42 PM

EVERY now and then a scientific finding flies in the face of conventional wisdom. And so it was with an accidental discovery by microbiologists at the University of Wisconsin's Food Research Institute that wooden cutting boards kill food-poisoning bacteria that survive very nicely on the plastic boards that have been widely promoted for years as safer than wood.

The scientists, Dean O. Cliver and Nese O. Ak, stumbled upon the finding while seeking ways to decontaminate wooden boards and make them as "safe" as plastic. Much to their surprise, they found that when boards were purposely contaminated with organisms like Salmonella, Listeria and Escherichia coli that are common causes of food poisoning, 99.9 percent of the bacteria died off within three minutes on the wooden boards, while none died on the plastic ones.

When contaminated boards were left unwashed overnight at room temperature, bacterial counts increased on the plastic, but none of the organisms could be recovered from the wooden boards the next morning.

It had long been believed that disease-causing bacteria from raw foods like chicken would soak into a wooden board and be difficult to remove, even when washed; then when other foods, like salad ingredients, that are eaten raw are cut on the same board, the dangerous bacteria could be picked up by them and transferred alive to the consumer. Plastic was assumed to be safer because it is nonporous and contaminating organisms could be readily washed off.

Based on the new studies, Dr. Cliver said, "Wood may be preferable in that small lapses in sanitary practices are not as dangerous on wood as on plastic." But he cautioned against being "sloppy about safety" and warned cooks to be sure to wash off cutting surfaces after cutting meat, chicken or fish, whether the surface used is wood or plastic.

The researchers tested boards made from seven different species of trees and four types of plastic and found similar results: wood was safer than plastic, regardless of the materials used. Thus far, however, the researchers have been unable to isolate the agents in wood that make it so inhospitable to bacteria.

I've known this about wood cutting boards for some time now and it affects my food preparation practices.  I don't ever cut vegetables on it immediately after using the board for meat, but wood is better than plastic.

However, the Chief Decider on this issue at the FDA, a certain Monica Metz, has a conflict of interest:

Quote
Anonymous3:53 PM

Surprise, Surprise...You got it...Prior to the FDA Monica worked at "Big Cheese" Check out her linkedin profile here:

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=124909577&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=ALB8&locale=en_US&srchid=89098991402260692103&srchindex=7&srchtotal=15&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A89098991402260692103%2CVSRPtargetId%3A124909577%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary

I could not access her profile as I do not have "LinkedIn" access.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2014, 11:23:11 AM by Pandora »
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Offline Libertas

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2014, 07:17:25 AM »
Perhaps now Wisconsin will secede from the Evil Empire...

Free at last, free at last!
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Offline AlanS

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #3 on: June 09, 2014, 07:52:37 AM »
However, the Chief Decider on this issue at the FDA, a certain Monica Metz, has a conflict of interest:

Quote
Anonymous3:53 PM

Surprise, Surprise...You got it...Prior to the FDA Monica worked at "Big Cheese" Check out her linkedin profile here:

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=124909577&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=ALB8&locale=en_US&srchid=89098991402260692103&srchindex=7&srchtotal=15&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A89098991402260692103%2CVSRPtargetId%3A124909577%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary

I could not access her profile as I do not have "LinkedIn" access.

From Linkdin:

Quote
Experience
FDA
Branch Chief
FDA
January 2011 – Present (3 years 6 months)College Park, MD

Dairy and Egg Branch
FDA
CSO
FDA
November 2001 – January 2011 (9 years 3 months)
Leprino Foods
Quality Control Manager
Leprino Foods
1998 – 2001 (3 years)

Leprino Foods:

Quote
Leprino Difference

    Quality
    Service
    Innovation

Quality

HIGHEST STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE are at the heart of everything we do. Our products have been recognized worldwide as superior because of their high quality and dependability. We use some of the most advanced quality assurance technology in the world. We perform over 350,000 analytical, performance and microbiological tests every month. In fact, our Leprino Foods Quality Assurance employee’s regularly review products all the way down to the molecular level. We are unapologetically, obsessed with product taste, functionality, consistency, and safety.

TASTE THAT AMAZES customers and consumers is what we strive for every day. Over 75 percent of the U.S. population enjoys Leprino Foods cheese every year, and the largest food and restaurant companies in the world get their cheese from us. Pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, string cheese, tacos, mozzarella sticks, the list goes on and on… there’s no denying the world’s obsession with cheese.

WORLD-CLASS PARTNERSHIPS with leading milk producers ensure that our products are made from the freshest, most wholesome top-grade milk. Straight from the farm to our plants, every ounce of milk is subject to the most rigorous quality testing in the industry. Dairy farmers have been indispensable partners in our growth over the years.

So, yeah. She knows her cheese.
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Offline Libertas

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2014, 08:18:37 AM »
Scratch a progressive and a crony elitist douche is always underneath.....

...their reign of terror is about played out....
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Offline Glock32

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2014, 10:39:19 AM »
Hell the very existence of cheese is because of bacteria.
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Offline Libertas

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2014, 11:51:33 AM »
Wait a sec...

Don't God-denying proglodytes all believe man arose as a result of bacteria oozing out of the primordial sludge?

Progs are anti-bacteria!  Progs are anti-human!

What do we do with anti-human Progs?!
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Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #7 on: June 09, 2014, 10:15:06 PM »
Hell the very existence of cheese is because of bacteria.

maybe they just want us to eat cheez whiz
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Offline Alphabet Soup

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2014, 10:16:27 PM »
"Cheez Whiz is...People!"

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2014, 11:26:43 PM »
Like Pan, I've known about the anti-bacterial property of wood (compared to plastic) cutting boards for years. I assumed it was common knowledge.

I don't believe that the people making "rules" for the entire country are ignorant of this. If they were, there would be someone in the organization saying, "Um...pssst... Monica... don't you know that wooden cutting boards are naturally more anti-bacterial than plastic?" An entire organization cannot be ignorant of a widely known fact.

This is being done to agitate. Payback against Scott Walker, I would say.

Disobey.
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Offline Libertas

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #10 on: June 10, 2014, 07:04:22 AM »
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Offline Libertas

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #11 on: June 10, 2014, 07:04:42 AM »
Like Pan, I've known about the anti-bacterial property of wood (compared to plastic) cutting boards for years. I assumed it was common knowledge.

I don't believe that the people making "rules" for the entire country are ignorant of this. If they were, there would be someone in the organization saying, "Um...pssst... Monica... don't you know that wooden cutting boards are naturally more anti-bacterial than plastic?" An entire organization cannot be ignorant of a widely known fact.

This is being done to agitate. Payback against Scott Walker, I would say.

Disobey.

 ::cool::
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Offline richb

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #12 on: June 11, 2014, 02:06:00 PM »
Looks  like the FDA is backing down,  for now......

My guess,  its more because they got bad press.   Not that they won't keep trying at a later date.    I imagine nobody there has changed their minds about wood boards.

http://www.cato.org/blog/fda-decides-not-walk-cheese-plank-now?utm_content=buffer9785a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Offline Libertas

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #13 on: June 11, 2014, 02:12:26 PM »
Wait till after the conclusion of the pseudo elections...
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Offline Libertas

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2017, 07:23:19 AM »
Did you miss Pan's post above about disobedience?  God gave you eyes, use them...or pluck them from your sockets!
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Offline John Florida

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #15 on: November 08, 2017, 02:47:25 PM »
  The FDA did the same sh*t with butcher blocks years ago making the same claims about bacteria only to change it back years later.  I have never heard of anyone getting sick from aging boards or butcher block either but some damned how people get sick from hamburger that's prepped in state of the art stainless steel work areas.

 It's not the boards IT'S SANITATION!!!!

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Offline Libertas

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Re: FDA now over-regulating cheese
« Reply #16 on: November 08, 2017, 03:35:15 PM »
Wait...what?!  Did you just say newly arrived dreamers are filth-spreading louts making people sick?!   ::speechless::



We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.