RESEARCH & RELATED Other Project InformationNo. 7 Project Summary AbstractThe Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Laboratory provides testing of food for microbiologicalcontamination to protect the public's health. The IDPH Laboratory participates in the Food EmergencyResponse Network (FERN) and is a grantee of the FERN Microbiological Cooperative Agreement Program(MCAP). In addition, the Laboratory is the primary laboratory conducting microbiological food analysesrequested by the IDPH Food and Dairy Program. The IDPH Food and Dairy Program currently has a three-year FDA Food Inspection Contract (HHSF223200940028C), effective until June 30, 2012. A new proposal foran FY2013 food inspection contract is being prepared and will be accompanied by enrollment in theManufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS) on July 1, 2012.The laboratory currently has testing capability to isolate and identify bacterial contamination of food by severalorganisms including Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli O157 and non-O157, and Listeria. Through participation inthe FERN MCAP, the laboratory has received and successfully tested large number of food samples. Afterisolation of any bacterial contamination, identification of the bacteria is accomplished through the use of bothbiochemical and automated, rapid-response testing developed through participation in FERN MCAP. Theidentification of the bacteria is completed by the use of serotyping and Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis(PFGE). These results are compared to results of bacteria isolated from clinical specimens to characterize theextent of a food borne outbreak and hopefully identify the food source of the outbreak.The objective of this grant is to prepare primary service laboratories to achieve and maintain ISO/IEC17025:2005 laboratory accreditation by a recognized accrediting authority. This objective is in alignment withongoing efforts by the IDPH Division of Laboratories. IDPH labs are currently in the process of developing aquality management system for food microbiological testing that meets the managerial and technicalrequirements of the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard. The laboratory is also developing a laboratory informationmanagement system (LIMS) to track receipt and testing of food samples and reporting of results to variousagencies. Our application proposes the use of FDA expertise and funds from this grant to add to the on-goingeffort to improve the food testing quality management system and electronic reporting capability already inprogress at IDPH.
RESEARCH &RELATED Other Project Information No. 8 Project Narrative After achieving accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2055 using assistance from this grant, the data generated by the IDPH laboratory from food testing will be of a quality comparable to other laboratories accredited to the same standard. The data generated will be accepted and used by both state and federal regulatory agencies for routine surveillance and during public health emergency situations such as food borne outbreaks. The data will be legally defensible for use during any enforcement or criminal actions as it can be shown to be generated using the requirements of an internationally recognized standard.
