2018 Annual Report to the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services: FSMA Surveillance Working Group, BSC, OID
Summary
The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010 (FSMA), signed into law on January 4, 2011, authorized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to create a diverse working group of experts and stakeholders to provide routine and ongoing guidance to improve foodborne illness surveillance systems in the United States. Accordingly, in fiscal year (FY) 2012, CDC established a FSMA Surveillance Working Group (FSMA-SWG) under the Board of Scientific Counselors, Office of Infectious Diseases (BSC/OID), a federal advisory committee. This seventh annual report summarizes the FSMA-SWG’s activities and recommendations during FY 2018.
The FSMA-SWG held two 2-day meetings in FY 2018, convening in December 2017 at CDC in Atlanta and again in May 2018 at The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) in Washington, DC, to review, respond to specific questions on, and provide guidance on foodborne illness and outbreak surveillance projects in the following areas:
- Improving governmental coordination, integration, and collaboration
- Evaluating and improving surveillance systems
- Enhancing external stakeholder collaboration and communication
The December 2017 Working Group meeting focused on responding to specific questions and providing guidance on foodborne illness surveillance data needs and approaches to measuring the public health impact of several U.S. Food and Drug Administration FMSA regulations.
The May 2018 meeting focused on a review and discussion of the opportunities and challenges of the increasing use of culture-independent diagnostic tests. The meeting was held as part of the 2018 Forum on Culture-Independent Diagnostics: Charting a Path for Public Health meeting, which was sponsored by CDC, Pew, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and The Ohio State University.
The Working Group applauded recent increases in funding for food safety infrastructure, but the issues addressed in this report emphasize the need for continued resources for these activities.