DATE:    12/2/97
CONTACT: Dr. Felix Barron, (864) 656-5694 
         David Smith,      (803) 525-7118
         Dr. Jim Rushing,  (803) 766-3761     
WRITER:  Giles Singleton,  (864) 656-3876

Clemson Extension Efforts Keep Food Safe

     CLEMSON -- A recent outbreak of salmonella poisoning killed
two people and sickened 750 at a church dinner in Maryland. An E.
coli outbreak made 16 people ill in Colorado and led to this
summer's record recall of 25 million pounds of tainted ground
beef.
     Clemson Extension is working with food processors across the
state to help prevent these kinds of food safety scares from
occurring in South Carolina. To do this, Extension specialists
train processors and handlers in the use of federally required
HACCP systems to keep food safe. 
     "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, or HACCP, is a
science-based system to examine each step in processing food,
isolate possible hazards, and set limits, or critical control
points, within which the food is safe," said Terry Titus, Clemson
Extension food scientist. Titus provides HACCP training for
commercial food service workers.
     "The overall concept of HACCP is applicable in the whole
food chain from farm production to home preparation. If something
goes wrong, you will catch it before it goes to the next level, 
and correct or remove it from the food chain," Titus said.  
     "For example, time and temperature are often two crucial
points. Staying at a safe temperature for a safe amount of time
-- that is, within the safe limits, the critical control points
--keeps the food safe," he said.
     The state's seafood industry has been a particular focus of
Clemson Extension's HACCP training, since federal regulations
required the industry to implement the new system by Dec. 18,
1997. Meat and poultry producers face deadlines running from 1998
to the year 2000, and have also been targeted by Extension for
training.
     "After Dec. 18, seafood produced not in compliance may be
considered adulterated and therefore not suitable for human
consumption," said Clemson Extension Specialist David Smith.
     "The seafood industry is big in South Carolina -- a $200
million a year commodity. It's bigger than some of our
agricultural crops," said Smith, who has been training seafood
processors, dock workers, fishermen and state and federal
inspectors throughout the industry.
     "HACCP training is a tremendous opportunity for the
university to extend technical knowledge to people who need it,"
said Smith, an Extension marine industries specialist in Clemson
University's Food Science department, who works out of Beaufort.
     "In general, our food supply is very safe already," said Jim 
Rushing, Clemson Extension postharvest specialist at the Coastal
Recreation and Education Center. "We have the safest, most
abundant food supply in the world."
     But HACCP will make that food supply even safer, Smith said.
     "These new regulations create an extra layer of protection
against the possibility of unsafe seafood being sold," he said.
     The new system will also help protect South Carolinians from
problems with imported foods, Smith said.
     "As our supply becomes more global, we get other people's
problems," he explained. "Fish from Ecuador could be a problem
for someone in Greenville. We import 75 percent of our seafood.
We're globally dependent."
     After Dec. 18, imports will have to meet the same
requirements as domestically produced seafood.
     HACCP regulations also have an impact on South Carolina
tourism.
     "One of the primary reasons tourists come to the coast is
seafood," Smith said. "They need to feel we have a safe seafood
supply."
     "In other states, HACCP seafood compliance is erratic," said
Jerry Gault, owner and manager of J & D Enterprises, a crab
processing facility located on Ladys Island near Beaufort. "David
wants those of us in South Carolina to be ready. He knows this is
serious," said Gault, who has completed Smith's HACCP training.
     "David has done a real good job about keeping us informed,
bringing the new regulations to our attention. He's been
instrumental throughout the whole industry  -- fish, crabs,
shrimp, all of it."
     "After the training, we decided we needed to install an
automatic recorder on our crab cooker instead of keeping manual
records," Gault said.
     "David Smith has led the way for the state in getting both
our inspection personnel and our industry people trained in how
to use Seafood HACCP," added Bill Brooks, assistant commissioner
of agriculture for laboratory services with the S.C. Department
of Agriculture.
     "Clemson Extension has provided training for compliance at
the state, national, and international levels," said Felix
Barron, a Clemson Extension food scientist who helps bring food
processors, including the meat and poultry processors' production
lines into compliance with HACCP regulations. "We also have held
trainings across the Southeast for supervisors of food handlers
in the U.S. military."
     While there are some private consultants, no other public
agency in South Carolina offers this training.
     "Fees for Extension's training courses are minimal as
compared to others," Barron added. "This is a plus for small
producers, who are the majority of food processors in South 
Carolina.
     While HACCP is not mandatory for fresh fruits and vegetables
yet, it may be in the future. Clemson Extension has been on the
cutting edge in this area, thanks to Jim Rushing, who set up the
first HACCP system for tomatoes in the nation.
     In 1994, when a tomato packer in South Carolina learned that
some of his tomatoes might have had Salmonella, he called on
Rushing to find potential problems and set up a system to ensure
the tomatoes processed by his packing plant would be safe.
     Rushing found three potential hazards. The most crucial was
water quality maintenance in the packing house.
     "One thing we did was install a free-chlorine monitor on the
water tank where tomatoes are washed when they arrive at the
packing house. It has an alarm that sounds when the free-chlorine
levels fall below the acceptable level." 
     The next most dangerous hazard occurred whenever the
tomatoes were touched by human hands. Workers were educated about
sanitation, and rubber gloves, soap, and disinfectant were made
easily available.
     "Because of the possible connection to illness, the packer
still does the verification tests," Rushing said. "He understands
the implications for his business, and for all tomato packers in
the state."
                           END