The consultation aims to gather opinions aboutsetting national standards for reducing or eliminatingpathogens during processing; It ends tomorrow inArlington, Virgina.

The topics include an assessment of theMycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. Thebacterium is the cause of a chronic gastrointestinalinfection called Johne's disease in cattle, and otherruminants. There have been claims that it also causesCrohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel diseaseof humans that can be severe, prolonged anddebilitating. However, experts differ in their opinionon such a link and worldwide there is noconsensus.

The bacterium has shown up in pasteurised milk onretail sale.

The National Advisory Committee on MicrobiologicalCriteria for Foods (NACMCF), which is holding themeetings, provides scientific advice to federal safetyagencies for use in the development of an integratednational system to assure the safety of domestic,imported, and exported foods.

The committee is also responsible for developingmicrobiological criteria and for reviewingepidemiological, risk assessment data, andmethodologies for assessing microbiological hazards infoods.

The NACMCF is working on methods to reduceCampylobacter; consumer guidelines for cooking seafoodand poultry, and pathogen control in molluscs afterharvest; among other topics.

The NACMCF has already formulated standards onHACCP, and microbiological criteria for specific foodssuch as raw shellfish, cooked ready to-eat shrimp, andcrabmeat.

NACMCF has issued food safety white papers onfresh produce and dairy standards in relation topasteurization. The committee has also evaluatedmicrobiological performance standards for several rawmeat products.

Other topics under discussion include thedetermination of cooking parameters for seafood,poultry products