FDA and FSIS Collaborate to Fight Outbreaks of E. coli and Other Harmful Pathogens
Federal food safety officials plan to discuss improving the country’s system for tracing the causes of food poisoning at a public meeting Dec. 9 and 10, according to a press release issued Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The meeting, to be held at the USDA offices in Washington, D.C. will address the need to increase the speed and accuracy of food poisoning outbreak investigations and implement procedures to prevent future outbreaks.
“This public meeting provides an opportunity for FDA to collaborate more closely with FSIS as well as with members of the food industry, many of whom have been making important innovations in food safety practices and technology, and all of whom bear primary responsibility for producing and marketing safe food,” said Michael R. Taylor, senior advisor to FDA’s Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D.
The announcement comes in the wake of a multistate outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 that struck 26 people in late October and early November, killing two and hospitalizing others. The illnesses are associated with more than half a million pounds of ground beef that was recalled Oct. 31 by Ashville, N.Y.-based Fairbank Farms. Just days earlier, another recall of about 1,000 pounds of beef from a Massachusetts firm was associated with several cases of E. coli 0157:H7 in a group of Rhode Island school children.
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker supports the FSIS and FDA in their recognition that it is vital to improve America’s faltering food safety system by addressing gaps in food product tracing and mandating testing and inspection at all points along the food supply chain. “Families should not have to worry about whether the food on their dinner table, be it hamburgers or salad, is contaminated with E. coli,” Pritzker said. “There are clear measures government officials can take to mitigate that risk.”
There are many strains of E. coli bacteria that are categorized into more than 170 serogroups, which in turn are broken down into one or more serotypes. The E. coli strain primarily responsible for E. coli-related injury and death is classified as Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli 0157:H7). The harmful pathogen can do severe damage to the intestinal lining and can also result in hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States.
Those interested in attending the public meeting can pre-register online and consumer inquiries may be directed to: 888-INFO-FDA.
