raditionally, food safety has been taught and professionals have been encouraged to analyze laboratory samples and solve problems using conventionally established and accepted methods. However, looking back over my and my colleagues’ and students’ careers, challenging of the conventional has been, in fact, the basis of much success, especially when intuition or data suggested that the conventional was not telling the entire story.
Challenging the conventional has occurred by: Questioning, as part of a program of continuous improvement, the standard methods and approaches used; Never being quite satisfied with accepting the data if the outcomes seem too routine or being concerned if the variability is pushing the edge of statistical significance; Assessing extensive controls to verify the accuracy and precision of the method, especially with subtle but important differences from the predicted; When the outcome is not predicted, viewing the situation as an opportunity to discover why it occurred; Constantly searching for unintended consequences that invariably develop with new or improved processes or new approaches to solve existing problems; Anticipating a possible hidden and ongoing event even if it has never occurred before or a potential future problem that could develop. Questioning observations are the true basis for research and competence.
Research that reflects our challenging the conventional:
Heat injury of Staphylococcus aureus was discovered when established selective media results did not mesh with controls.
Freezing and dehydration damage of salmonellae and E. coli continued the theme of questioning the effects of selective media on cells exposed to processing conditions that damaged but did not inactivate the cells.
Apparent bacterial spore responses to heat varied depending on subculture conditions and ultimately revealed the roles of multiple spore germination systems.
Stressful conditions on C. perfringens demonstrated the extraordinary capability to grow rapidly over a broad range of constantly increasing temperatures.
Inhibition and growth of C. botulinum under various conditions in several food systems also verified the complexity of predicting effectiveness of accepted control measures and ingredients.
Response of B. cereus spores to changing environments highlighted the broad range of responses to germination, growth and inactivation conditions.
This background was ideal preparation for my transition to a food defense perspective addressing intentional contamination, where challenging the conventional is especially pertinent. Over my past 12 years, the application of these thought processes has been particularly useful in personal progression from food quality management and food safety through to food defense. Since many safety and defense principals are parallel, some felt their food safety programs were satisfactory deterrents in food defense. However, the thought patterns addressing potential threats demand different assessments considering that defense is dealing with intelligent adversaries. The success of food defense programs depends extensively on assessing and planning for events that have rarely if ever occurred to date. Ingenuity and inquiry play a great roll here as well as in food safety activities. The areas of concern range from considering whether threat agents would be biological, chemical or radiological; to vulnerability of entry points along the entire food supply chain; to effects of food processing and handling on various select agents; to relevant approaches in preparing to prevent, respond and recover should a threat or an event occur; to effectual risk and crisis communication on these rare but catastrophic events; to responses of consumers and the probable recovery of a commodity after an event; to the anticipated national and international economic impact and subsequent loss of faith in the government after an event where a trusted food supply had been violated and consumer protection had failed. Relevant concerns over intentional contamination of food have never been more important than today.