Quarterly updates on ACS's efforts to promote, preserve, and protect traditional cheesemaking.

In This Issue... 
Safe Cheesemaking Hub Recognized with ASAE "Power of A" AwardPowerA
 
The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) represents over 35,000 individual members from over 7,400 trade organizations and professional societies. Their "Power of A" Awards highlight the association community's valuable contributions to society on the local, national, and global level. The awards honor the outstanding accomplishments of associations and industry professionals in the areas of strengthening lives, forging a more trained and highly competitive workforce, enhancing the economy, driving innovation, and making a better world.
This year, ACS was recognized with a Silver award for our Safe Cheesemaking Hub , based on the site's valuable content and innovative approach to collaborating with allied groups and reaching beyond membership to work to enhance industry safety.

ACS was also honored with a Gold award for the Certified Cheese Professional® Exam , which was cited for its success in developing and advancing professions and professionalism within the cheese industry.

ACS Food Safety Efforts to be Highlighted at 2017 NADRO ConferenceNADRO  

With all of the work ACS has put into advancing food safety in cheesemaking, the association serves as an example of how even small organizations can have a big impact on industry. Now that we have created usable tools and resources for members, it's time to reach out to regulators and inspectors to create understanding, educate one another, and build collaborative pathways for advancement. To this end, ACS is presenting a session at the 2017 National Association of Dairy Regulatory Officers (NADRO) Annual Conference , July 11 in Jupiter, FL.
 
The session, "American Cheese Society: How Industry Can Advance Food Safety" will be presented jointly by ACS members Kathleen O'Donnell , Chief Food Scientist, Wegmans Food Markets, and Bob Wills, President, Cedar Grove Cheese, and Chair of ACS's Regulatory & Academic Committee.
 
Five years ago, ACS formed its Regulatory & Academic Committee to focus on food safety, education, research, and outreach to regulators. Since that time, we have established regular meetings with FDA, grown our Annual Conference to include food safety-focused training, added monthly food safety webinars for our members, published a Best Practices Guide for Cheesemakers (now in its second edition, incorporating technical edits from FDA), supported a First Level Audit created by a consortium of leading retailers, created the quarterly Traditional Cheese Advocate newsletter, and developed an informational portal, The Safe Cheesemaking Hub . Looking forward, we hope these types of industry-led efforts can gain awareness, input, and support from groups like NADRO, with a goal towards better understanding, training, and collaboration between producers and those who regulate them.
 
R & A Committee Sets Sights on Food Safety Guide for RetailersCommittee
 
The ACS Regulatory & Academic Committee has established a Working Group to move forward with the development of a food safety guide for cheese retailers. Members of this group will facilitate an Open Networking Session focused on food safety concerns for retailers at the ACS Conference on Thursday, July 27, at 10:15 AM at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in Governor's Square 16. A n outline based on the ACS Body of Knowledge will be shared at this meeting to kick off the discussion. Session participants will not only share thoughts on what should be included in the guide, but they will also discuss the most effective formats for delivering the information to ensure that this is a useful and effective tool for ACS members. If you are interested in participating, we hope you'll join us!

 
For over a year now, ACS has been a part of the Artisan Cheese Safety Advisory Group. One outcome of this work is our  Safe Cheesemaking Hub  website. The next goal was to create an online safe cheesemaking certificate course tailored to those working at small farmstead and artisan cheese facilities. This course has been developed by, and is now available through, North Carolina State University.
 
The course is intended to be an introduction to controlling food safety hazards through GMPs, sanitation, good design, and environmental monitoring. As an on-demand, self-paced, self-study resource, ACS hopes it will help cheesemakers of all experience levels by providing important information in an easy-to-use format which is accessible at the user's convenience. The full course consists of five sections:
(1) Importance of Food Safety
(2) Regulations and Standards
(3) Food Safety Hazards
(4) Good Manufacturing Practices and Process Controls
(5) Environmental Pathogen Monitoring and Testing
 
As a new benefit for ACS members, this $140 course is available FREE of charge to current members! Register and get started now using code: ACS-FREE  
 
ACS Partners with Dairy Practices Council to Offer Member DiscountsDPC
 
In our efforts to continue to provide, and encourage adherence to, safe cheesemaking and handling practices, ACS has teamed up with the Dairy Practices Council (DPC) to make their valuable guidelines available at a 25% discount for ACS members. DPC
is a fellow nonprofit organization made up of education, industry, and regulatory personnel concerned with milk quality, sanitation, and regulatory uniformity. They publish educational guidelines for the dairy industry that are regularly reviewed and updated by committees of their members to ensure they are accurate and up-to-date.
 
The catalog of available titles is extensive. ACS members can receive their 25% discount by selecting their guidelines and then entering coupon code "ACS" at checkout.
 
How Stakeholder Engagement Benefits FDA and IndustryStakeholder
 
Sharon Natanblut and Kari Barrett of FDA's Office of Foods and Veterinary Medicine, Communication and Public Engagement, share insights on how stakeholder engagement has impacted FDA and its mission to protect public health. The mission, they say, is not a goal that FDA can achieve alone. "We need the cooperation and support of those who produce and use regulated products and the ability to provide assurance to consumers that we are doing our upmost to protect public health. This is why stakeholder engagement is such an important part of the agency's work", say Natanblut and Barrett. Read more in this discussion with the two about what they've learned along the way through their efforts to engage with stakeholders.     
 
ACS Body of Knowledge Engages Broad Range of Subject Matter ExpertsBOK
 
An industry Body of Knowledge (BOK) is a comprehensive framework that aims to encompass the interdisciplinary domains of information that comprise the knowledge base of an industry. For ACS, this reflects the broad range of professional skills, knowledge, and tasks that form the cheese industry. First compiled in 2010, our industry BOK has been edited and revised over the years to reflect the rapidly growing and changing cheese industry.
 
A fully revamped edition of the ACS BOK will be shared with members at the Annual Conference in Denver. This overhaul will inform all ACS publications by providing a consistent structure and content outline, and will assist in the development of different educational programs, offerings, articles, and subject guides. It will also be used to identify gaps in research and knowledge areas. In addition, the 11 Domains of the BOK will inform updates and edits to the ACS Certified Cheese Professional® Exam.
 
Don't Miss Food Safety-Focused Sessions at ACS 2017Sessions
It's not too early to download the ACS Conference Mobile App and begin selecting sessions and planning your personalized schedule for "Cheese with Altitude." If information on food safety and quality production is what you're after, you'll want to consider the following sessions:
 
Jenny Scott, Senior Advisor, Office of Food Safety at FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)
 
Facilitated by John Antonelli, Antonelli's Cheese Shop; Laura Downey, Fairfield Cheese Company; Cathy Gaffney, Wegmans; Meri Spicer, Grafton Village Cheese Company; and Sarah Spira from ACS.
 
Stephanie Clark, Ph.D., Iowa State University; Pat Polowsky, ACS CCP®, University of Vermont; and Dean Sommer, Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research
 
Rebecca Hohlstein, CSK Food Enrichment and Gina Mode, Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research
 
Michael and Charlie Kalish, Food Safety Guides
 
TOOLS TO IMPROVE CHEESE CONSISTENCY & TROUBLESHOOTING
Kerry E. Kaylegian, Ph.D. and Lisa Caprera, Pennsylvania State University
 
FOOD SAFETY SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE (SOLD OUT) 
Kerry E. Kaylegian, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
 
EU Votes to Protect "Dairy" Designations - Aligns with Direction of DAIRY PRIDE ActDairyPride
The European Union (EU) Court of Justice has  recently issued a decision prohibiting the use of dairy designations for plant-based "milk" or "dairy" products (i.e. soy, almond, etc.). The Court further ruled that these products cannot be marketed and sold with a "dairy" denomination, even if the label bears a descriptive explanation of the plant origin of the ingredients.
 
Stateside, earlier this year the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) presented its DAIRY PRIDE Act ( ''Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, milk, and cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act) to the U.S. Senate, with a goal of enforcing FDA's current labelling standards and definitions for "dairy". Similarly, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy has launched its "Undeniably Dairy" campaign, which further strengthens support for limiting dairy designations to products that meet current regulatory definitions.
 
In April 2017, ACS issued its own position statement on the definitions of milk, milk products, and cheese , which adhere to widely accepted definitions used both domestically and internationally.

July 26 Public Comment Deadline for FDA Guidance Document on Listeria in Ready-to-Eat Foods Comment

FDA is still seeking comments from stakeholders on its Draft Guidance for Industry: Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods. The comment period runs through July 26, 2017, and comments may be submitted through the Federal Register.  
 
Recent Study Once Again Conflates Raw Milk and Raw Milk CheeseStudy
 
ACS recently responded to an article in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Disease which conflated raw milk with raw milk cheese, citing CDC data on foodborne illness outbreaks. The study's authors responded, and while they did not correct the conflation, they did acknowledge and recognize the validity of ACS's perspective. ACS also submitted corrections and concerns to STAT in regards to a subsequent article that sensationalized the study's findings .

Recap of ACS Spring Meeting with FDASpringFDA
 
ACS leaders met May 8 with FDA representatives at their CFSAN offices. The meeting was cordial and productive, and it served as another important step in continuing to advance industry dialogue with regulators in support of artisan, farmstead, and specialty cheese. Read the complete Member Update for details and outcomes of the meeting.  
ACS Attends 2017 Food Safety SummitSummit

The Food Safety Summit Conference & Expo this year provided ample food for thought about issues on the horizon for food manufacturers. Changes stemming from the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) have not just hit producers hard, but also regulators and inspectors at both the state and federal levels. The dust is settling, but there are still many areas that require additional clarity to ensure that all facets of the food industry understand what is required to enhance food safety proactively. A few key messages:
  • "Find and Fix". The philosophy of FSMA shifts regulatory agencies away from a purely compliance/enforcement mindset to a more practical approach to finding problems and fixing them before tainted products reach consumers.
  • Innovative testing services. Dozens of established companies and innovative new-comers are tackling food safety testing, and solutions, to expand accessibility, bring down costs, and ultimately enhance safety.
  • Park doctrine still looms large. The Park doctrine is the common name given to the Responsible Corporate Officer doctrine cited by the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Park (1975). It details how corporate officials in positions of responsibility or authority might find themselves at risk of being charged with criminal negligence in cases where their company's products are linked to food-borne illness outbreaks.
  • Do the right thing. One defense attorney who regular works on behalf of manufacturers gave some simple, but dramatic, advice to producers. He advises that when you come across a problem in your facility which you must remedy, think carefully about what next steps you will take to mitigate risk and ensure the ultimate safety of your product. Now imagine that you are telling 12 jurors what you did and why you did it in that moment. This simple exercise will help you consistently make the best choices for consumer safety.
Safety is an InvestmentSafety 
 
Making sure your facility is compliant with regulations and designed to enhance safety is a major investment - and one that even the smallest producers must make. One large producer recently invested $600 million to design a cheese plant intended to be among the world's safest production facilities. Forbes Magazine's, " How $600 Million Builds The Safest Mozzarella Factory In The World " shares details of what went into building the new Leprino Foods Dairy factory in Colorado. 
American Cheese Society | 720.328.2788 | [email protected]  | www.cheesesociety.org
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