IFSAC Will Host Public Progress Meeting In Late February
By Laurel Maloy, contributing writer, Food Online
The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration will update the public on its progress and happenings since being established in 2011
The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) was formed to improve cooperation between agencies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the FDA, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) all have functions having to do with food safety. IFSAC, through its interagency collaboration, can develop all-inclusive analytical methods, its goal being to improve knowledge of and address the analytical challenges associated with foodborne illnesses.
IFSAC identifies the priorities, drafts a plan, and then proceeds to discover foodborne illness source attribution, its sole focus, according to its website. This involves scientifically analyzing and interpreting food-contamination data and monitoring progress. You can view the agency’s entire Strategic Plan for Foodborne Illness Source Attribution here.
In addition to developing a communication plan between the different agencies and obtaining commitments for personnel and financial resources, IFSAC has identified four priority pathogens. These pathogens, Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) and Campylobacter, have been, and are currently, the initial focus of projects for the five years spanning 2012 through 2017. Its current projects, all evidently still ongoing, can be viewed here, though only one project seems to have reached completion, the initial findings being reported here.
There is no doubt that interagency collaboration is necessary. In fact, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently voiced its strong opinion on that topic. When thinking about the roles each of these agencies plays in regard to food safety, you can’t help but think about other agencies that are infamous in the same respect. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Secret Service immediately come to mind. Oh, and let’s not forget the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). All of these governmental agencies have been in the spotlight at one time or another for withholding information from one another.
IFSAC will be hosting a public meeting in order to provide updates on its completed and ongoing projects intended to improve foodborne illness source attribution. The meeting will be on Tuesday, February 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST and will be held in the South Building of the Jefferson Auditorium at the USDA. Though the meeting is free to attend, pre-registration is required, as is a valid photo I.D. required to enter the building. A live webcast of the meeting will also be available. For information on the webcast, you can contact Edward Stoker, at the Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education or Joanna Zablotsky Kufel, Office of Data Integration and Food Protection, both at the FSIS. Stoker can be reached at 202-720-4849 and/or at Edward.Stoker@fsis.usda.gov. Zablotsky-Kufel can be contacted at 202-690-6644 and/or at Joanna.zablotsky-kufel@fsis.usda.gov. In the event you would like to attend and make oral comments, you must contact Juanita Yates by Feb 9. She is at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and can be reached by telephone (240-402-1731) or by email (Juanita.yates@fda.hhs.gov).
During the era of another politically-charged issue, Eldridge Cleaver said, “There is no more neutrality in the world. You either have to be part of the solution, or you're going to be part of the problem.” When the government asks your opinion to help solve a problem, meetings such as this are the perfect opportunity to do so.