Food Safety of Farmstead Cheese Processors in Pennsylvania: An Initial Needs Assessment

Introduction: Every year, roughly 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die because of foodborne illness. In the U. S., from 1998 to 2011, 90 outbreaks were attributed to cheese, causing 1,083 illnesses, 229 hospitalizations, and 6 deaths. Raw milk cheeses, characteristically made by farmstead dairy processors, have been involved in several of these outbreaks; but little is known about this audience’s food safety practices.

Purpose: The main goal of this study was to conduct a needs assessment addressing food safety issues at farmstead cheese establishments in Pennsylvania, using information obtained from dairy inspectors, cheesemakers, on-site observations, and environmental sampling.

Methods: State dairy inspectors (n = 12) were surveyed to identify the most common “out of compliance” issues during inspections conducted over the last 4 years. Another survey was developed and disseminated to farmstead cheesemakers (n = 10) to assess their food safety knowledge, behavior, and attitudes. Five (5) farmstead dairy establishments also were visited and observed during cheesemaking sessions to evaluate food safety and sanitation issues. Finally, environmental samples from a processing facility were taken on two different days and analyzed using ATP bioluminescence and microbiological methods.

Results: The inspector surveys (n = 6), the observations during cheesemaking (n = 5), and environmental sampling (n = 23) results suggest that basic sanitation is a concern and there is room for improvement. Additionally, the farmstead dairy processors indicated that their knowledge, attitude, and behavior were good or very good in the areas of sanitation (70%) and food safety (65%).

Significance: These findings indicate that farmstead cheese processors may lack basic food safety practices and demonstrate gaps in their food safety knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.  As such, there appears to be a need for food safety training, with an emphasis on sanitation, for this underserved audience.