A recent conversation with officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explained to stakeholders how the agency handles foodborne illness outbreaks and other adverse food safety events, as well as the ways in which FDA plans to improve its processes. Highlighted throughout the conversation was the importance of data in foodborne illness outbreak investigations; FDA expressed its intent to continually explore ways to enhance the agency’s data streams.
FDA also released a supplementary, informational video that illustrates the agency's process in responding to foodborne illness outbreaks. The video describes the complex web of steps taken by FDA—along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local, state, and international public health authorities—to respond to foodborne illness outbreaks associated with FDA-regulated goods. The video explores how CDC works with public health authorities to learn more about what could be sickening consumers, and if an FDA-regulated food product is identified, how FDA investigates the cause of the outbreak and works with industry to remove any potentially contaminated product from the market.