Good Manufacturing Practices at the Biotech-Careers & Entrepreneurship Hub

Did you know that Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) are required in both the biotechnology and food industries?  GMPs are a set of recommendations established by the FDA to increase the safety of food and drugs.  Following GMPs decreases the risk of people being poisoned by contaminated food or medicines.  When GMPs are not followed, we can have problems like this summer's outbreak of Listeria (1). In the past two months 57 people were hospitalized and nine people died after eating Boar's Head deli meat–liverwurst–to be precise (2). This summer's outbreak was the largest since 2011 when 33 people died from Listeria in cantaloupe.

USDA inspectors found 84 examples where GMPs were not followed and documented them in their report from the Boar's head plant (3). They found puddles of blood on the floor, black mold on the walls, water dripping over meat, and dead flies. Non-compliance reports like these make great tools for teaching about GMPs although you might want to wait until after lunch.

Visit Good Manufacturing Practices at Biotech-Careers.org to learn more about careers that require knowing about and following GMPs.

References
1. Listeria Outbreak Linked to Meats Sliced at Delis, July 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/delimeats-7-24.html

2. Teddy Rosenbluth and Christina Jewett, Boar's Head Plant Tied to 9 Deaths had Mold, Leaky Pipes and Flies, Aug 30th, 2024, New York Times.

3. USDA non-compliance report 2023-2024. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/Non-Compliance_Reports_112022-To-812024.pdf