Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Rapid Response Team: A Collaborative Response to Food Safety Emergencies
After a number high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, President Barack Obama’s Food Safety Working Group recommended that a Rapid Response Team (RRT) concept be adopted and funded through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve emergency planning and response to such incidents. Foodborne outbreaks and emergencies can result in illnesses, deaths, and, often, economic consequences. Agencies at all levels of government have a significant role in recognizing outbreaks or other events, and responding rapidly to protect the public.
In 2008, the RRT program was created by the FDA’s Office of Partnerships to address the need for an improved and integrated rapid response to complex food and feed emergencies across the country. Grants were awarded to six pilot states in 2008, and the next year, the pilot program was expanded to three additional states. Nine more RRTs, including that of Pennsylvania, were formed and funded in August 2012. The program has now grown to include 22 states, some of which operate without federal funding.
In Pennsylvania, an RRT Advisory Group, a collaboration of more than 40 organizations, was created to better understand their respective roles and how they interact in a large food or feed emergency response. Pennsylvania’s RRT Advisory Group, led by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), includes representatives of academia, industry, local health departments, and state and federal agencies.
Federal partners include FDA’s Philadelphia District Office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service, the USDA Veterinary Services, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. State agency partners include the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The American Veterinary Medical Association through its Veterinary Medical Assistance Team also participated in the project, along with a private industry and regional task force emergency planning advocate.
PDA RRT Response Examples
Apple Juice Lye Incident
This incident involved a municipal police and ambulance response to a Chinese buffet-type restaurant. Officers found two children, a 4-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy, experiencing discomfort and adverse physical reactions immediately upon drinking apple juice from plastic foam cups that were served to them. The two children were subsequently transported to a local hospital and admitted for observation and treatment. Through RRT coordination, Pennsylvania food inspectors, Pennsylvania Department of Health personnel, and local law enforcement investigated, sampled, and tested apple juice from the supplier and the restaurant. The investigation tested other apple juice containers of the same lot number and ruled out contamination during the manufacturing process. The investigation also consisted of numerous interviews and associated staff statements. Findings identified lye as the suspected contaminant. Laboratory testing corroborated a suspected lye contamination of the cups used to serve the children at the restaurant; although unable to identify lye conclusively, it possibly transpired due to the proximity of lye storage at the restaurant. RRT response planning and practices were assessed against lessons learned and best practice principles, and identified and captured elements as short- and long-term action items and/or recommendations.
Suspected Banana Intentional Contamination Incident
In August 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of Health forwarded a message to PDA conveying that a physician in a southeast Pennsylvania county reported that after a patient consultation, the physician believes that someone is injecting blood into bananas, based on an examination and testing of the substance found in a banana brought in by the patient. This prompted the initiation of a PDA-RRT-coordinated activation/mobilization for a comprehensive investigation of the source of the banana from a local supermarket. Although no other reports of similar circumstances had been acknowledged as of the time of the response, local authorities and state agencies had to treat this as a possible criminal activity in assisting the local health authority. As with all the events and responses to incidents, the Pennsylvania RRT acquired additional knowledge and tactics to increase its ability to response to any food or feed emergency.