News Date: 03/02/2009
NASDA’s affiliate organization, the Association of Food & Drug Officials(AFDO), is again conducting a survey of state food safety programs in order to capture information regarding the volume and importance of food safety work performed there. AFDO conducted this survey in 2001 and 2003 and it provided valuable information.
The previous surveys demonstrated that state and local food safety agencies conduct more than 95 percent of the food safety inspections in this country when compared to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Data from the past surveys was also used to develop recommendations to Congress and the Administration about state resource and funding needs.
Both AFDO and NASDA believe an updated survey of state programs which indicates annual work performed in terms of the number of inspections, number of recalls, number of illness investigations, number of food samples collected and analyzed, and other activities is needed to illustrate the scope and quantity of food safety work conducted. The survey is especially important given the recent interest in federal food safety legislation that now exists in Congress and the Administration.
The survey should also give a much needed push to establish a fully integrated food safety system in the country which AFDO and NASDA have endorsed for years. AFDO and NASDA are encouraging state food safety programs to participate in this survey so we may once again illustrate the enormity of food safety work performed at the state and local levels.
The survey and additional information is available on the AFDO website at: http://www.afdo.org or by contacting Joe Corby, Executive Director, AFDO, by telephone at: (518) 860-2838 or by email at: jcorby@afdo.org. (Contact: Charlie Ingram)
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