Press Release -- Wheelwright Consultants Completes Foodborne Illness Investigation and Recall Response Training

Eric F. Nusbaum, founder and principal of Wheelwright Consultants, recently completed training in Foodborne Illness Investigation and Recall Response given by the National Environmental Health Association in Southborough, MA. Participants in the program came from a wide variety of backgrounds: chain and independent restaurants, grocery stores, health departments, and food safety consultants. More than two dozen participated in the full-day program. The training was given in conjunction with the Massachusetts Restaurant Association as part of the Association’s commitment to improving the relationship between food safety regulators and operators and as part of the Association’s on-going commitment to protect the health of the American public.

Nusbaum, who founded the hospitality management and food safety consulting firm in 1995, was the only participant from Western Massachusetts attending the program. Asked about the program, Nusbaum said that the presenters were very good and that they provided participants with a wealth of materials and forms that would be useful in investigating a foodborne illness outbreak or in working with food processors to handle a product recall. Nusbaum said that Wheelwright Consultants is working with a number of individuals and firms that are starting to produce specialty food products in Western Massachusetts and that having this training and information would be extremely valuable in the unlikely situation where one of these producers would have to institute a recall of products. Information provided in the program indicates that the number one reason that a producer would recall a food product is the undeclared presence of an allergen or due to a labeling error. While food products may be recalled when there is evidence that they could cause an illness, this is actually the case in a minority of recalls.

The program also reviewed the steps to be taken when investigating a reported foodborne illness, including taking case histories of those involved, conducting an environmental assessment of the business implicated in the outbreak, proper epidemiologic procedures, and implementation of corrective actions.

Posted: to Latest Wheelwright News on Sat, Jan 10, 2015
Updated: Sat, Jan 10, 2015