Food Safety
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Safety
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • White Papers
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
    • Contamination Control
    • Food Types
    • Management
    • Process Control
    • Regulatory
    • Sanitation
    • Supply Chain
    • Testing and Analysis
  • PODCAST
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Food Safety Five Newsreel
    • eBooks
    • FSM Distinguished Service Award
    • Interactive Product Spotlights
    • Videos
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MORE
    • ENEWSLETTER >
      • Archive Issues
      • Subscribe to eNews
    • Store
    • Sponsor Insights
  • WEBINARS
  • FOOD SAFETY SUMMIT
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issues
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
NewsRegulatory

FDA Gives Webinar on Foodborne Outbreak Response Improvement Plan

By Bailee Henderson
FDA webinar outbreak response improvement plan

Credit: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

April 14, 2022

On April 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a webinar on its Foodborne Outbreak Response Improvement Plan, part of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety. The webinar featured agency representatives and academics who discussed the scientific information behind the Improvement Plan and the plan’s four core priorities. The webinar ended with the panelists answering questions from the public.

Frank Yiannas, FDA Deputy Commissioner of Food Policy and Response, opened the webinar by stressing two main themes that were present throughout the event. The first was the importance of using modern-day tools to meet modern-day needs. FDA is carefully considering how it can best utilize technological tools to improve its foodborne illness outbreak response. The second theme Yiannas raised was that of collaboration. Communication and data-sharing between local, state, and federal agencies, as well as the private sector, is crucial to a timely and effective outbreak response. 

Scientific Context

Craig Hedberg, Professor at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health and author of “An Independent Review of FDA’s Foodborne Outbreak Response Processes,” spoke on the webinar to discuss his study, which informed FDA’s development of its Improvement Plan. The study assessed FDA’s capacity to respond to multistate outbreaks associated with commercially distributed food, particularly produce. Hedberg’s significant findings included:

  • FDA has increased its outbreak response capacity, thanks in part to whole genome sequencing (WGS), which has led to an increased need for rapid traceback in the early stages of investigations
  • The traceback process has inherent delays at each step, and could be improved with better use of electronic records, contextualization of environmental assessments with similar outbreaks to find common factors, and earlier and more open communication between parties.

Hedberg went on to suggest ways that state partners can work with FDA. Regarding traceback, Hedberg advised partners to conduct routine interviews and detailed exposure assessments to collect crucial, initial information for source tracing. To identify suspected food items faster, Hedberg proposed looking for sub-clusters of cases around food establishments or retail food stores. Additionally, Hedberg stressed the value of integrating solid epidemiological investigations with environmental assessments. Finally, Hedberg urged states to join with FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in disseminating the important results of outbreak investigations to their constituents.

Priority One: Technology-Enabled Product Traceback

Kari Irvin, Deputy Director of the Office of Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, discussed the first core priority of the Improvement Plan. The priority, technology-enabled product traceback, is concerned with reducing the time needed to identify contaminated product by using technological tools. Utilizing technology can improve agency ability to collect quality initial information from case patients in higher quantities, facilitate and expedite how data is received, and conduct accelerated tracebacks using advanced analytics. Irvin also discussed the pertinence of informing relevant partners of new ways of doing tracebacks with current technologies, harmonizing traceability work across FDA, and helping stakeholders use new traceback processes.

Priority Two: Root Cause Investigations (RCIs)

Priority two was presented by Scott MacIntire, Program Director at the Office of Human and Animal Food Operations—West. This priority concerns the gathering and sharing critical investigational findings to more quickly and fully prevent future outbreaks. MacIntire discussed adapting and strengthening RCI protocols and procedures; standardizing the criteria and format for producing RCI reports, including FDA’s intent to publish a model once standardization is achieved; determining the fastest and most transparent process for disseminating public health information garnered from RCIs; and enhancing staff, training, and resources to manage anticipated increases in RCI analyses.

Priority Three: Analysis and Dissemination of Outbreak Data

Stic Harris, Director of FDA’s Coordinated Response and Evaluation Network, spoke about the third priority—analysis and dissemination of outbreak data. This priority is concerned with more quickly identifying outbreak sources and providing earlier, more open communication with government partners, industry, and the public. The target goals of this priority are:

  • To more fully analyze past outbreaks to understand current outbreaks by identifying trends with data over time
  • Facilitating greater sharing of data between FDA, CDC, and state partners, including data on outbreaks and prevention methods
  • Increasing the transparency of outbreak investigations with resources such as FDA’s publicly-available CORE Outbreak Investigation Table
  • Enhancing efforts to work with CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) to identify reoccurring/emergent/persistent pathogen strains using WGS.

Priority Four: FDA Operational Improvements

David Goldman, Chief Medical Officer at the Office of Food Policy and Response, relayed priority four—FDA Operational Improvements. Goldman iterated FDA’s intent to collect operational and public health metrics, streamline operations by removing steps or doing things in parallel rather than in sequence, and improve performance by increasing the implementation of early tracebacks.

Questions

The panelists took time at the end of the webinar to answer public questions. These questions covered a range of topics, such as: 

  • How FDA will protect industry secrets while increasing transparency with the public
  • FDA’s actions regarding pet food outbreak investigations
  • FDA’s ability to provide actionable guidance to industry 
  • The availability of foodborne illness response training
  • FDA plans for rapid response teams
  • FDA and CDC protocols for testing and analysis at relevant farms
  • Limitations on the timeliness of identifying the source of an outbreak
  • Ways the public and private sectors can collaborate. 


KEYWORDS: FDA Foodborne Outbreak Response Improvement Plan New Era of Smarter Food Safety RCIs traceback webinar

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Baileehendersonmay23

Bailee Henderson is the Digital Editor of Food Safety Magazine. She can be reached at hendersonb@bnpmedia.com.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • people holding baby chicks

    Serovar Differences Matter: Utility of Deep Serotyping in Broiler Production and Processing

    This article discusses the significance of Salmonella in...
    Contamination Control
    By: Nikki Shariat Ph.D.
  • woman washing hands

    Building a Culture of Hygiene in the Food Processing Plant

    Everyone entering a food processing facility needs to...
    Personal Hygiene/Handwashing
    By: Richard F. Stier, M.S.
  • graphical representation of earth over dirt

    Climate Change and Emerging Risks to Food Safety: Building Climate Resilience

    This article examines the multifaceted threats to food...
    Best Practices
    By: Maria Cristina Tirado Ph.D., D.V.M. and Shamini Albert Raj M.A.
Manage My Account
  • eMagazine Subscription
  • Subscribe to eNewsletter
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Website Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Food Safety Magazine audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Food Safety Magazine or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • mold
    Sponsored byIFC

    Tackling Mold Remediation in Food Processing Plants

  • a worker in a food processing plant
    Sponsored byLPS® DETEX®

    How a Beverage Facility Improved Food Safety and Compliance with Detectable Packaging Solutions

  • Two men standing in a produce storage facility having a discussion.
    Sponsored byOrkin Commercial

    Staying Compliant With FSMA

Popular Stories

carton of dozen brown eggs

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Eggs Ends With One Dead, 38 Hospitalized

close-up shot of nickel metal

New EU Maximum Levels for Nickel Now Apply to Dozens of Foods

blue iced donuts next to pie of sugar with blue written in it

FDA Authorizes Use of Fourth ‘Natural’ Food Dye, Gardenia Blue

Events

July 22, 2025

Beyond the Binder: Digital Management of Food Safety

Live: July 22, 2025 at 3:00 pm EDT: During this webinar, attendees will learn best practices for the use of digital food safety management systems across industry and regulatory agencies.

August 7, 2025

Achieve Active Managerial Control of Major Risk Factors Using a Food Safety Management System

Live: August 7, 2025 at 2:00 pm EDT: From this webinar, attendees will learn about changes to the FDA Food Code, which now includes a requirement for FSMS. 

May 11, 2026

The Food Safety Summit

Stay informed on the latest food safety trends, innovations, emerging challenges, and expert analysis. Leave the Summit with actionable insights ready to drive measurable improvements in your organization. Do not miss this opportunity to learn from experts about contamination control, food safety culture, regulations, sanitation, supply chain traceability, and so much more.

View All

Products

Global Food Safety Microbial Interventions and Molecular Advancements

Global Food Safety Microbial Interventions and Molecular Advancements

See More Products
Environmental Monitoring Excellence eBook

Related Articles

  • FDA logo

    FDA to Hold Webinar on Foodborne Outbreak Response Improvement Plan

    See More
  • FDA Announces Plan to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response

    FDA Announces Plan to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response

    See More
  • FDA data connectivity logo background

    FDA Explains its Foodborne Illness Outbreak, Food Safety Incident Response; Highlights Improvements, a Need for Data

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • 9781138070912.jpg

    Trends in Food Safety and Protection

  • 1119258073.jpg

    FSMA and Food Safety Systems: Understanding and Implementing the Rules

  • food-safety-making.jpg

    Food Safety: Making Foods Safe and Free From Pathogens

See More Products

Related Directories

  • Responsible Training

    Responsible Training has been a trusted leader in compliance education since 1999, providing accessible and reliable training solutions for businesses across highly regulated industries. With deep local expertise in Texas and a nationwide reach, we specialize in helping kitchens across industries get tailored, regulation-focused content that ensures businesses seamlessly meet their compliance requirements. Contact us for more information about our Food Manager Certification, Food Handler Courses, Alcohol Server and Cannabis Vendor courses.
×

Never miss the latest news and trends driving the food safety industry

eNewsletter | Website | eMagazine

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing