Scent Detection Dogs An Unused Tool for Food Safety?

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1 Scent Detection Dogs An Unused Tool for Food Safety? Jeff Farrar Food and Drug Branch Chief California Department of Public Health Andy Jimenez Falco K9 Academy - Brea, California Alonza Cruse FDA District Director Los Angeles District Barbara Cassens FDA District Director San Francisco District Pat Kennelly Food Safety Section Chief California Department of Public Health California Food Emergency Response Team (CalFERT)

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3 Scent Detection Dogs Law enforcement uses of scent detection dogs are well documented Explosives detection and tracking Arson/accelerant detection and tracking Narcotics detection Cadaver dogs Missing persons tracking Evidence detection Cell phones in prison Scent detection capabilities of dogs can surpass existing state of the art lab equipment. (10 s of parts per billion, 500 parts per trillion) In each of these situations, scent detection dogs do not replace other law enforcement tools. They are merely another tool that can enhance and help focus further investigative approaches.

4 Scent Detection Dogs Recently, more non-law-enforcement uses of scent detection dogs have been documented cancer (lung cancer, malignant melanoma) and diabetes screening/detection detection of peanuts/peanut residue in the environment of highly allergenic individuals termites in homes, bedbugs in hotels, gypsy moth egg cases in horticultural products, illegally imported meat products at airports, screwworm larvae, mold detection in buildings, mold detection in vineyards locating whale feces in the ocean for researchers, detection of estrus in cattle for artificial insemination

5 Scent Detection Dogs From a single drop of urine, the sniffing dog learns the marking animal s sex, diet, health, emotional state, and even whether it s dominant or submissive, friend or foe. For dogs, researchers believe that a scent article is like a three-dimensional odor image - much more detailed than a photograph is for a person. The properly trained and certified detection dog is recognized in court as a scientific instrument (US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals) According to a report prepared by the Institute for Biological Detection Systems (IBDS) of Auburn University (Auburn, AL), dogs have the following capabilities: Sensitivity: Documented limits of olfactory detection for the dog range from tens of parts per billion to 500 parts per trillion. Discrimination: Dogs are extremely good at discriminating a target vapor from non-target vapors that are also present, even at relatively high concentrations of non-target odors. Odor Signatures: When being trained to detect a substance, dogs learn to alert to one or two of its most abundant vapor compounds. Multiple Odor Discriminations: Dogs can easily learn as many as ten odor discriminations.

6 Scent Detection Dogs in Food Safety Years of frustration trying to identify sources of fecal contamination in produce fields.

7 Scent Detection Dogs in Food Safety Pilot project/proof of concept in 2008 using an experienced, certified scent detection dog trainer (Andy Jimenez - Falco K9 Academy Brea, California) Select dog Train Zero - the fecal detection dog 3-4 months Different types of feces (dog, cat, bird, wild pig, deer, coyote, rodent, etc) from animals normally expected to be near or in growing fields in the Salinas area. Passive alert (sit) Toy reward Begin proof of concepts Salinas June 2008 Lettuce field Bins of head lettuce at receiving Irvine August 2008 Screening of produce samples at the laboratory Oxnard August 2008 Screening of produce going through a vacuum cooler using a filtering device.

8 Scent Detection Dogs in Food Safety Current USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Funding Prioritization of lab samples Import Others that may be incorporated if time/money allow Wholesale/Terminal Produce Market? Case control comparison study of soil for generic E. coli and fecal coliforms

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21 Scent Detection Dogs in Food Safety Lots of unanswered questions. However, we do know that many/most foodborne pathogens are spread through fecal contamination. Can a scent detection dog be trained to identify fecal contamination from different types of animals? To assist in farm/field investigations to help focus sample collection efforts? To assist regulators at ports of entry in targeting samples to be collected for microbial testing? To assist growers in preplanting evaulations of fields and in preharvest and postharvest sampling/testing? To assist processors in screening incoming produce? To assist growers with tracebacks and field investigations of preliminary positives on pre/postharvest product testing to locate possible sources of contamination? To assist processors in dry food facilities to locate moisture/mold? Peanut Butter manufacturing facilities dry infant formula To assist laboratories in prioritizing food/produce samples during outbreak investigations?

22 Scent Detection Dogs Can scent detection dogs identify specific species of foodborne bacteria (Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli O157:H7, Shigella)? Can scent detection dogs be used to identify bioterroism agents? What are the quantitative limits of detection? What is the correlation of feces and presence/detection of pathogens. How long can the scent be detected? What about composted manure on a field? Can feces be detected in water? Can electronic sniffers, as currently in use in explosives detection, be developed to detect fecal contamination, pathogenic bacteria, or indicators of contamination in a food processing facility? Can Scent Detection Units (vacuums passing air through a filter) be used to increase the efficiency and/or boost the ability of dogs to detect feces?

23 Scent Detection Earlier prototype of the Scent Transfer Unit 100 device could this be adapted/modified for use in screening bins/loads of incoming produce and/or imported produce?

24 Scent Detection Dogs What about assisting drug and medical device manufacturers in locating hidden moisture/mold in clean rooms? Brad Prill - Industrial Safety Professionals Inc. Temecula, California

25 Scent Detection Dogs in Food Safety Summary Current techniques for completing environmental investigations of foodborne outbreaks are antiquated. Scent detection dogs can easily be trained to detect fecal contamination and may be useful in certain food safety investigations. Current trials are attempting to provide some structure and quantitative limits to successful proof of concept trials. This effort is not the solution but will hopefully serve to encourage regulators to continue to try some out-of-the-box efforts.

26 Scent Detection Dogs Acknowledgements Andy Falco Jimenez - Falco K9 Academy Brea, California ( USDA-Specialty Crop Block Grant funding via the California Department of Food and Agriculture Dr. Pam Swift - California Department of Fish and Game Hunter Moyles USDA Wildlife Services Marika Pappagianis - University of California Davis College of Veterinary Medicine Dr. Rob Atwill Western Institute for Food Safety and Security University of California Davis FDA Irvine Lab staff Bill Martin, Ted Dunn. Jennifer Gogley, Lieuchi Phan, Jasmine Thompson, Nelly Tran