FDA, FSIS and CDC to Convene Public Meetings on Measuring Progress on Food Safety: Current Status and Future Directions

FDA, FSIS and CDC to Convene Public Meetings on Measuring Progress on Food Safety: Current Status and Future Directions
June 30, 2010
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) jointly announced Public Meetings to be held in Chicago, IL on July 21, 2010, and in Portland, OR on October 20. An initial one-day meeting was held on March 30, 2010, in Washington, DC, where FDA, FSIS and CDC discussed their collaborations on the methodological and data challenges involved in the feasibility and effective food safety metrics. The Transcript of the March 30 Meeting can be found on FDA’s webpage at http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/WorkshopsMeetingsConferences/default.htm. The purpose of the meetings is for the Agencies to gather information from stakeholders, including the regulated food industry, State regulators, and consumer groups, on the metrics the participants are using to assess performance in food safety. The Agencies are also interested in additional input from participants on their understanding and perceptions of metrics currently being used by the Federal Agencies.
At the two public meetings, the Agencies will hear presentations from any interested stakeholder, possibly including members of consumer groups, industry, state and local regulators, and state and local public health agencies on the measurements they are using or recommend to assess performance in food safety. The Agencies will present information on the President’s Food Safety Working Group’s charge to create meaningful metrics to measure the effectiveness of the nation’s food safety system. They also will present current thinking, focusing on how these metrics might be applied to Salmonella Enteritidis as FDA implements the egg rule, FSIS implements broiler chicken controls, and CDC collects and analyzes human disease data. Additionally, the Agencies will present information about the shared list of metrics that was developed by them to support the work of the President’s Food Safety Working Group.
Due to limited space, we encourage all persons who wish to attend the Public Meetings, including those requesting an opportunity to make an oral presentation, to register in advance. Dates and locations are:
• July 21, 2010, from 9:00 to 5:00 pm at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601. July 6, 2010, is the closing date for request to make oral presentation; July 13, 2010 is the closing date for advance Registration and requests for special accommodations due to disability.
• October 20, 2010, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at The Crowne Plaza Portland Downtown, 1441 NE Second Avenue, Portland, OR 97232. September 24, 2010 is the closing date for request to make oral presentation; October 8, 2010 is the closing date for advance Registration and requests for special accommodations due to disability.
General information, including links to on-line Registration and the Federal Register Notice, is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news/meetings_&_events/ .
Electronic registration is encouraged. Questions regarding registration should be directed to Jodee Warner, EDJ Associates, Inc., 11300 Rockville Pike, Suite 1001, Rockville, MD 20852, (240) 221-4296, e-mail: jwarner@edjassociates.com.
For general information and request to make oral presentation, contact: Juanita Yates, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, (301) 436-1731, e-mail: Juanita.yates@fda.hhs.gov