Due to a steady increase of foodborne Cyclospora cayetanensisinfections in recent years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) charged the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) with producing a report that provides information on the factors that contribute to the contamination of produce by the parasite, as well as recommendations for a prevention and management strategy. A copy of the report was recently published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS).
NACMCF provides impartial scientific advice and peer reviews to federal food safety agencies for use in the development of an integrated, national approach to food safety systems. In addition to FDA and USDA, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Veterinary Services Activity also benefit from NACMCF’s work.