GUIDELINES RELEASED FOR FOODBORNE DISEASE OUTBREAK RESPONSE
News Date July 21, 2009
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on July 15 announced new Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response. These guidelines were developed by the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR) and NASDA participates in this council.
The Guidelines are intended to assist local, state and federal agencies in preventing and managing foodborne disease outbreaks through planning, detection, investigation, control and prevention. The document focuses on local and state agencies, including public health, agriculture, environmental health, and other agencies responsible for food safety. Marion Aller, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, represents NASDA and the state agriculture departments on the CIFOR Council. She previously was President of NASDA’ affiliate organization, the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO).
CIFOR released a draft version of these Guidelines in June 2008, which then went through a public review and comment process. The document is intended to be used as a reference document that compliments existing procedures to update agency-specific policies, to identify gaps, and to target training of program staff. To access the Guidelines and more information about CIFOR, please visit www.cifor.us. (Policy Contact: Bob Ehart)