Foodborne illness outbreaks are largely preventable, but when one occurs it can have devastating consequences for consumers. As part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) commitment to keep Americans safe, we are using the domestic mutual reliance initiative, which enables us to strengthen our relationship with our regulatory partners and improve industry compliance to reduce foodborne illness outbreaks.
Recently, the state of Florida signed a domestic mutual reliance agreement, making them the fourth state to sign an agreement, joining California, Utah, and Wisconsin. What does this mean for efforts to reduce foodborne illness outbreaks? The domestic mutual reliance agreements will support the FDA and states in relying on and leveraging one another’s work and data and coordinating activities and regulatory actions to achieve a safer national food supply.