East Coast Shellfish Growers Association August 2021 Newsletter
Read about the new disaster assistance for shellfish growers from the Farm Service Agency:ELAP; the death of Walt Canzonier; a win for South Carolina growers with help from allies; new biodegradable netting from Ketcham Supply; Prop 65 warnings; shellfish farm ecosystem services study. Read about the new disaster assistance for shellfish growers from the Farm Service Agency:ELAP; the death of Walt Canzonier; a win for South Carolina growers with help from allies; new biodegradable netting from Ketcham Supply; Prop 65 warnings; shellfish farm ecosystem services study.
Walt Canzonier, ShellfishIndustry Renaissance Man,Dies at 85by Robert Rheault,ECSGA Executive DirectorAfter a lifetime of selfless service dedicated tothe shellfish industry, Walt Canzonier passedaway on June 18, 2021 at the age of 85. I willmiss his quirky humor and the immense wealthof practical knowledge that he loved to sharein long-winded, elegantly crafted e-mails thatoften sent me to the dictionary. Walt’s earlywork at the Rutgers Haskin Shellfish ResearchLaboratory focused on MSX and Dermo, buthe really cut his teeth on the challenges ofshellfish sanitation, especially viral and bacterialdepuration.Walt was a tireless and vocal advocate forindustry, serving as the president of the NewJersey Aquaculture Association for a decade.He could explain complex science in ways thatshellfish harvesters and farmers could understand.Walt relished standing up to the FDAWORLD´S LEADING OUTBOARD DIESEL ENGINESENDURANCE • RELIABILITY • POWER • CONTROL125 HP - 300 HP FOR DEMANDING ENVIRONMENTSmackboring.com • (908) 391-8378 • kthompson@mackboring.comat ISSC meetings,pontificating withunmatched flourishand battling regulatoryinjustices. Hewas one of the firstresearchers to demonstratethe utilityof ozone for sterilizationand lovedto regale anyonewho would listenabout his foibles andfailures, as well asthe many tools hedeveloped—but Waltnever bragged orsought kudos.In 2010 he receivedthe National ShellfisheriesAssociationWallace Award 1 forpromoting “understanding,knowledge,and cooperationamong industrymembers, the academic community, andgovernment.” A fitting description of his life’swork.Walt was a talented plumber, carpenter, scientist,teacher and mentor to many of us. Heloved shucking at events, always bringing tobear his big smile and quick wit; he was a pleasureto be around. I was crushed to learn thatWalt suffered a stroke in 2011 that robbed himof his ability to speak. He had so much knowledgehe wanted to share.He will be sorely missed."‘Tis the end of an era. I remember themany times that Walt, the self-titled 'fat,red-headed guy from the banks of theMaurice River,' would send me an envelopewith pages of details on sometopic or other asking me to “sanitize” hispassionate writing. Walt considered himselfa science generalist and lamentedthat so many people today are so highlyspecialized, and so often missing thelarger picture. After wading through allthe Walter-isms, there was always goodadvice. He was indeed a good mentor,and he mentored so many. In addition,he was fair-minded. He owned a homewith two residences in it, and rather thangetting what the market would bear forrent, he split the costs of the home, sayingthat it was fair that the tenant contributed,but not in excess of the cost.Lessons to take to heart.Rest in peace, Walter." — Lori Howell[Of his tenure as a member of the NJAquaculture Advisory Board, whichspanned the terms of three state secretariesof agriculture]"Walt had the ability to go back in historyon practically any small nuance ofshellfish and talk about it at length. Thiswould typically elicit a rolling of the eyesand a deep breath from the secretaryand others on the board or in the room.His institutional memory was such that…the students who frequentedthe Haskin Lab called him'Waltipedia.'” — Gef Flimlin"Walt Canzonier was oneof a kind. His breadth ofknowledge and his abilityto apply that knowledge,whether it was scientific, as a'hands on' fix-it person, or asa historian made him a trueRenaissance individual. Moreimportantly he had a strongdesire to help everyone whowould expend some effortto learn. The shellfish industryin the U.S., and particularlyin New Jersey, will be muchdiminished without his presenceand help. I know I willmiss him now that his presenceis longer with us."— John Kraeuter1. shellfish.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/Walter%20Canzonier%20Wallace%20Award%20qnl_spr2010%206.pdfPage 4 ECSGA Newsletter Issue 3 August 2021
Can Raw Foods Be Eaten Without Risk?by Robert Rheault,ECSGA Executive DirectorWhile the FDA and consumerswould clearly like to have risk-freefoods, researchers have concludedthe obvious: unless you sterilizeall foods, zero-risk is simply nota realistic goal. In a recent paperpublished in Current Opinion inFood Science 1 researchers in theNetherlands concluded that whilemodern food production, processingand regulation have maderemarkable strides in reducingand minimizing the risks of foodborneillness, we will never be ableto eliminate all risk, especially inraw foods.The team notes that it is theoreticallypossible to process all foodswith a sterilization step, but thereare consequences that includealtering the flavor, texture andnutritional qualities. The term“risk” denotes the probability of ahazard causing harm, and estimatingrisk involves quantifying thelevels of hazards and calculatingthe probability of illness. Riskassessment is a science that attemptsto model the dose-responserelationship for each hazard. Asour ability to detect and measurehazards improves we are able todetect incredibly small quantitiesof hazards, and at some point thechance of a tiny hazard causingan illness becomes “acceptable.”The researchers pointed out thelimitations of testing: “…if webased decisions only on testing, wecould (falsely) conclude that if ahazard has not been detected, theassociated risk must be zero.” It isimpossible to sample all of yourproduct because some has to remainto be eaten! The absence ofa positive test does not prove thatthe hazard doesn’t exist, it simplygives you a statistical likelihoodbased on the number of samples.It also does not ensure that hazardscould not be introduced afterthe testing occurred.Our food-safety system relies oncontrol strategies to minimize risk;we can be proud that our systemhas elevated consumer confidence.The downside of this progressis that consumers have come toexpect zero risk. The paper notesthat, “It is important that everyactor in the system understandsthat zero risk is unattainable infood.” Even cooking a product atthe requisite temperature for theappropriate time will often onlyreduce the number of pathogensto “safe” levels, but rarely will iteliminate all pathogens.It often seems that the FDAwould like us to sterilize all of ourproducts, but even the approvedpost-harvest treatments for shellfish(high pressure, gamma irradiation,pasteurization and extremefreezing) only reduce the levels ofpathogens—they don’t eliminateall of them.— Continued on page 126WAYS INSTANT ALGAE® ENSURESYOUR HATCHERY’S SUCCESSTim Reed, President, CEO and Founder of Reed Mariculture, Inc.WATCH OUR SHORT VIDEO TO LEARN MORE: ReedMariculture.com/sixways© 2021 Reed Mariculture, Inc. All rights reserved. Instant Algae, Ensuring Hatchery Success are trademarks or registered trademarks of Reed Mariculture Inc.∙1∙2∙3∙4∙5∙6Always available refrigeratedand frozen algae concentratesSuperior nutrition, intactwhole-cell feedsConsistent and reliable resultsEasy to useFriendly customer service andtechnical supportSuperior shipping and logisticsECSGA Newsletter Issue 3 August 2021 Page 5
- Page 1 and 2: East Coast Shellfish Growers Associ
- Page 3: A Win for the Good Guysby Robert Rh
- Page 7 and 8: — Continued from page 3Summer Har
- Page 9 and 10: ECSGA Newsletter Issue 3 August 202
- Page 11 and 12: Researchers Closing in onSolution t
- Page 13 and 14: — Continued from page 8Propositio
- Page 15 and 16: How Much Habitat Benefit Do Shellfi
Can Raw Foods Be Eaten Without Risk?
by Robert Rheault,
ECSGA Executive Director
While the FDA and consumers
would clearly like to have risk-free
foods, researchers have concluded
the obvious: unless you sterilize
all foods, zero-risk is simply not
a realistic goal. In a recent paper
published in Current Opinion in
Food Science 1 researchers in the
Netherlands concluded that while
modern food production, processing
and regulation have made
remarkable strides in reducing
and minimizing the risks of foodborne
illness, we will never be able
to eliminate all risk, especially in
raw foods.
The team notes that it is theoretically
possible to process all foods
with a sterilization step, but there
are consequences that include
altering the flavor, texture and
nutritional qualities. The term
“risk” denotes the probability of a
hazard causing harm, and estimating
risk involves quantifying the
levels of hazards and calculating
the probability of illness. Risk
assessment is a science that attempts
to model the dose-response
relationship for each hazard. As
our ability to detect and measure
hazards improves we are able to
detect incredibly small quantities
of hazards, and at some point the
chance of a tiny hazard causing
an illness becomes “acceptable.”
The researchers pointed out the
limitations of testing: “…if we
based decisions only on testing, we
could (falsely) conclude that if a
hazard has not been detected, the
associated risk must be zero.” It is
impossible to sample all of your
product because some has to remain
to be eaten! The absence of
a positive test does not prove that
the hazard doesn’t exist, it simply
gives you a statistical likelihood
based on the number of samples.
It also does not ensure that hazards
could not be introduced after
the testing occurred.
Our food-safety system relies on
control strategies to minimize risk;
we can be proud that our system
has elevated consumer confidence.
The downside of this progress
is that consumers have come to
expect zero risk. The paper notes
that, “It is important that every
actor in the system understands
that zero risk is unattainable in
food.” Even cooking a product at
the requisite temperature for the
appropriate time will often only
reduce the number of pathogens
to “safe” levels, but rarely will it
eliminate all pathogens.
It often seems that the FDA
would like us to sterilize all of our
products, but even the approved
post-harvest treatments for shellfish
(high pressure, gamma irradiation,
pasteurization and extreme
freezing) only reduce the levels of
pathogens—they don’t eliminate
all of them.
— Continued on page 12
6
WAYS INSTANT ALGAE® ENSURES
YOUR HATCHERY’S SUCCESS
Tim Reed, President, CEO and Founder of Reed Mariculture, Inc.
WATCH OUR SHORT VIDEO TO LEARN MORE: ReedMariculture.com/sixways
© 2021 Reed Mariculture, Inc. All rights reserved. Instant Algae, Ensuring Hatchery Success are trademarks or registered trademarks of Reed Mariculture Inc.
∙1
∙2
∙3
∙4
∙5
∙6
Always available refrigerated
and frozen algae concentrates
Superior nutrition, intact
whole-cell feeds
Consistent and reliable results
Easy to use
Friendly customer service and
technical support
Superior shipping and logistics
ECSGA Newsletter Issue 3 August 2021 Page 5