Courtesy Photo | (From left) Army Spc. Jun Wen, Army Spc. Keila Ortiz and Army Spc. LaTorie Lawrence,...... read more read more
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PHILADELPHIA - When the Food and Drug Administration recalled contaminated peanuts in 2009, the reaction from one Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Office impacted warfighters, their families and retirees around the world.
The peanut recall, which affected more than 150 different products, represented a worst-case scenario for the DLA Troop Support Subsistence Food Safety Office, which constantly monitors the entire Department of Defense food supply for potential hazards.
The FSO monitors not only the food supplied for rations and military dining facilities, but also on the shelves of commissaries and exchanges around the world.
“It’s the only office of its kind that reaches worldwide,” said Army Lt. Col. John Beach, chief of the Food Safety Office. “Anywhere there’s a uniform or dependent, our message reaches that far.”
The FSO constantly monitors for food recalls, searching for matches within the DOD inventory and sending out notifications to customers, prime vendors and government partners through the DOD All Food and Drug Activities messages. The recall messages are sent via email and are posted to the DLA Troop Support website.
“We let them know that these items may be in our inventory, or has been in our inventory, and they need to check it,” said Army Chief Warrant Officer Tony Hemphill, consumer safety officer for DLA Troop Support, and the officer charged with monitoring recalls for the entire DOD food supply.
Hemphill is a veterinary food safety officer with more than 18 years working in the public health and food safety environment and 24 years of total service. For him, the task isn’t just about keeping warfighters safe; it’s personal as well.
“What I do not only affects soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and their families, but my family as well,” he said. “We eat on the military system too. I wouldn’t want my family to be affected by something that’s been contaminated by some foreign material.”
As the only job like it within DOD, the consumer safety officer’s job requires a 24/7, 365 days-a-year commitment. The Food Safety Office currently has three staff, all soldiers, with one consumer safety officer and one alternate.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Christmas or New Year’s or if (Hemphill) is on leave,” said Beach. “If there’s an item out there that could potentially cause harm to someone in uniform or a dependent, we need to get that information out, and as quickly as we can.”
It’s not an uncommon threat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year about one in six Americans, or 48 million people, get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases.
And the danger only increases when the contaminants aren’t in just a single item, but a common ingredient, like the 2009 peanut recall.
“You think to yourself, ‘OK, I just recall that can of nuts and we’re good to go,’” said Beach. “The problem is, peanuts and peanut oils are in everything, so many products. You’re not dealing with one recall; you’re dealing with a bunch.”
Food recalls are only one function of his office, Beach said. His staff also conducts initial sanitary audit reviews of prime vendors and food manufacturers seeking to supply subsistence to DOD, checks for prime vendor nonconformance for food safety and sanitation issues, assists the services with policy updates, and acts as a liaison between DLA, U.S. Army Public Health Command, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and food safety inspectors around the world.
Currently, Beach’s office is busy reviewing all the source packages for the DLA Troop Support Subsistence prime vendor contract transition for Afghanistan. As the new prime vendor takes control of the food supply for the area, the FSO is reviewing packages for every bakery, dairy, produce and water source that will eventually nourish warfighters deployed there.
“By thoroughly reviewing the paperwork for accuracy and completeness prior to the audit, we ultimately save the government time and money,” he said, adding that inspectors only need to travel to the facilities whose paperwork is in order.
Beach said that while the main drive of his office is to help maintain the fighting strength of warfighters, its total reach is far greater.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about keeping the DOD food supply safe,” he said. “That includes all military, dependents, retirees and everyone associated with the military.”
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 11.14.2013 14:52 |
| Story ID: | 116750 |
| Location: | PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 130 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, DLA Food Safety Office protects warfighters, families, by William Addison, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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