Development of a Science-Based, Transparent, and Risk-Focused Policy for Response to Detection of Salmonella spp. in Livestock Feed and Accompanying Operational Guidance Document

Duration: 12 months. Ideal starting date: April 2015

Organization: Policy and Programs Branch/Animal Health Directorate/Animal Feed Division/ Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Supervisor(s): Annie Savoie, National Manager Biotechnology and Microbiology Section
E-mail address : Annie.Savoie@inspection.gc.ca

Fellow:

Preferred level: Doctoral student, post-doctoral, new investigator, or mid-senior investigator

Profile/type of expertise: The Fellow would have academic training and experience in microbiology, preferably in the area of foodborne pathogens. Academic training and/or experience in risk assessment and risk management, preferably with respect to microbial contamination of foods and feeds, would also be beneficial. It would be advantageous if the Fellow was currently involved in research examining the prevalence of Salmonella spp. in feed and/or other Canadian commodities as this would promote communication and sharing of different perspectives between groups working with Salmonella spp. Doctoral student, post-doctoral, new investigator, mid-senior investigator would all be appropriate for the project.

Assignment Summary:

Policy issue:Salmonella spp. is an important public health issue that merits government involvement and oversight. Since feed can be a route of exposure for Salmonella spp. in the feed/food chain, control of Salmonella spp. in feed manufacturing facilities is very important. The CFIA maintains a salmonella monitoring program for livestock feeds. Under the Feeds Act and Regulations, feeds contaminated with Salmonella spp. are considered non-compliant and the facility must provide a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to address the contaminated feed and mitigate contamination reoccurrence. Within the Animal Feed Program, Policy and Programs Branch (PPB) provides Operations Branch (OB) with guidance documents indicating appropriate responses to detection of Salmonella spp., but because of the complexity of factors to consider, OB frequently consults with PPB for situation-specific guidance on the acceptability of specific CAPs.

The policy issues to be addressed in the proposed assignment are two-fold. Firstly, the current Salmonella spp. feed policy has been place for many years. It is important that this policy be updated to reflect new information on the risks of Salmonella spp. in feed and new approaches to risk management of Salmonella spp. in feed. A science-based, transparent, and risk-focused policy for response to detection of Salmonella spp. in livestock feed, based on an in-depth analysis of the current state of knowledge on Salmonella spp. in feed, would enable the Animal Feed Program to more effectively respond to detection of Salmonella spp. in feed, ultimately leading to safer feed and food, and provide PPB with a transparent and defendable position when responding to challenges regarding their response to Salmonella spp. in livestock feed from both the public and industry groups. Secondly, there is a need for a consistent and predictable operational guidance document that OB could use to respond to a broad range of situations. Such guidance, based on the science-based, transparent, and risk-focused policy, would be particularly beneficial as Centres of Expertise (COE) are implemented within the CFIA in the near future. These centres, which will play a role in interpreting PPB policies for OB, will require clear direction on these policies.

Proposed Work Plan

Activity Milestones Deliverables Time Frame
Literature review
  • Review of scientific information on the prevalence of Salmonella spp. in feed in Canada and other countries
  • Review of scientific information on the risks to human health associated with Salmonella spp. in feed
  • Review of scientific information on risk management tools used in other countries
  • A meta-analysis of scientific information on Salmonella spp. in feed compiled using EndNote reference manager
6 months

Report preparation and presentation

  • Drafting of a report summarizing scientific information in the meta-analysis of scientific information on Salmonella spp. in feed
  • Presenting the report to Government of Canada stakeholders within the CFIA, PHAC, and Health Canada to receive feedback on conclusions
  • A report summarizing scientific information on Salmonella spp. in feed
  • Feedback on report from Government of Canada stakeholders
2 months
Development of draft updated Salmonella spp. in feed policy
  • Development of a draft updated policy for response to detection of Salmonella spp. in livestock feed
  • Draft updated Salmonella spp. in feed policy
1 month
Development of draft guidance documents for OB and COE
  • Development of consistent and predictable draft operational guidance documents for OB and COE
  • Draft guidance documents for OB and COE
6 weeks
Preparation and presentation of draft updated policy and guidance documents senior management
  • Preparation of briefing materials for senior management
  • Presentation to senior management
  • Briefing materials and presentation
2 weeks
Development of preliminary consultation plan (time permitting)
  • Preparation of preliminary plan for  consultation of updated policy and guidance documents with stakeholders
  • Consultation plan
1 month

Exposure to the public policy-making process:

In the final six months of the project, a draft updated policy for Salmonella spp. in livestock feed and draft operational guidance documents will be developed. These will provide the Fellow with hands-on experience in policy development and development of risk management tools. The Fellow will also prepare briefing materials for senior management and use these materials to present the draft updated policy and draft operational guidance documents to senior management. If time permits, the Fellow will also contribute to developing a consultation plan to prepare for public consultation of the new policy and operational guidance. If appropriate, results of the in-depth analysis of the current state of knowledge on Salmonella spp. in feed will be submitted for publication to contribute to the shared health knowledge base.

The Fellow will interact with a team of microbiology and other scientific professionals within CFIA, in other federal departments in Canada (e.g. Health Canada staff responsible for food health risk assessments) and abroad (e.g. within US-FDA, European Commission) and with national and international industry organizations in order to assess the risks of Salmonella spp. to human health. The Fellow will also interact with a CFIA business line decision-making committee with comprises CFIA senior management to present the results of the new policy and operational guidance. There may also be the opportunity of the Fellow to consult with select industry groups, predicted to be impacted by changes in Animal Feed Programs approach to Salmonella spp. in livestock feed.

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