Each day, Americans depend on a complex system to provide safe, wholesome and nutritious food. This system, as it ranges from producers, to processors, to foodservice and retail establishments, and finally to the consumer, has a responsibility for keeping food safe.
We must be cognizant of intentional acts of food contamination. Food Defense involves activities associated with protecting the nation’s food supply from deliberate or intentional acts of contamination or tampering, and should be incorporated into every food establishment’s policies and procedures.
The primary objectives of food safety educators is to provide pertinent food safety information to each of the segments in the food system and to work with regulatory agencies to ensure that each of these segments understand the regulations and guidance that apply to them.
Multistate Foodborne Outbreaks
When two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink, the event is called a foodborne outbreak. Public health officials investigate outbreaks to control them, so more people do not get sick in the outbreak, and to learn how to prevent similar outbreaks from happening in the future.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and partners ensure rapid and coordinated surveillance, detection, and response to multistate foodborne outbreaks.
CDC – Investigating Outbreaks
CDC – Multistate Foodborne Outbreaks
Additional Resources
Government
CDC Food Safety
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
FDA CFSAN (Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition)
Not-For-Profit
Partnership for Food Safety Information (FightBac)
