Food Safety Office
CDC’s Food Safety Office coordinates CDC’s efforts in improving national capacity for surveillance of foodborne illness and investigation of foodborne disease outbreaks. The office carries out this mission through the following activities:
- Building program capacity for epidemiology, laboratory, and environmental health at the local and state levels, including the Integrated Food Safety Centers of Excellence
- Directing CDC’s implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
- Supporting activities of the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR)
- Fostering partnerships across CDC, with other federal agencies, and with food safety partner associations
The Food Safety Office manages the Integrated Food Safety Centers of Excellence, a program established by FSMA that provides assistance and training to state and local health departments to build their capacity to track and investigate foodborne disease.
FSMA seeks to protect public health more effectively by strengthening the food safety system. FSMA directs CDC to enhance foodborne illness surveillance systems through improved collection, analysis, and reporting of foodborne illness data.
The Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response consists of national associations and federal agencies working together to improve methods to investigate, control, and prevent foodborne disease outbreaks.
The Food Safety Office fosters partnerships across agencies involved in surveillance, investigation, and response to foodborne disease as part of its work to strengthen food safety activities.
Within CDC, the office helps support foodborne disease expertise in five centers: