Forum—Food Safety Advances and Collaborations Here and Abroad
The safety of the food supply has become an increasingly visible
global public health issue. Outbreaks of foodborne illness are
seen as a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic
burden. The cause of many outbreaks remains unresolved, and
issues such as increased international trade, changes in eating
habits, and increased travel abroad complicate investigations.
Persistent outbreaks that may directly affect public health,
industry, and trade require the immediate attention of the
nation’s food safety team. The Agricultural Research Service’s
national program on Food Safety provides, through research, the
means to ensure that food and feed meet foreign and domestic
regulatory requirements and are safe for consumers. The
program’s research, described in its 2011-2015 Strategic Action
Plan (available as a pdf at tinyurl.com/FoodSafetyPlan) seeks
ways to assess, control, or eliminate potentially harmful food
contaminants, including both intro