Collaborations

Founded in 2006 to help America find innovative, science-based solutions for the food challenges of the 21st Century, CFI believes that all stakeholders – government regulators, industry, consumer groups, educators, medical providers and policy makers – share the responsibility of building a strong and effective food safety system to protect all Americans from foodborne illness. Truly, no one sector can achieve this alone. Therefore, CFI seeks to collaborate with other food safety stakeholders by participating in national, regional and local food safety initiatives, meetings and conferences. CFI also serves on national advisory committees and other important food safety forums.

Current Collaborations

National Academies of Science

CFI’s Director of Food Safety, Barbara Kowalcyk, has been appointed to serve on two National Academies of Science (NAS) Committees regarding food safety:

The National Academies Institute of Medicine’s Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources Standing Committee on Use of Public Health Data in FSIS Food Safety Programs was formed at the request of USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to evaluate the use of public health data in FSIS food safety programs. The Standing Committee oversees the work of separately appointed ad hoc committees. The ad hoc committees will review data collected by FSIS, as well as the methodology they used in risk assessments, to help FSIS determine the best way to implement risk-based inspection. The Standing Committee is composed of 29 experts from academia, industry and public health.

The National Academies Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council formed the Committee on Review of the Food and Drug Administration’s Role in Ensuring Safe Food to undertake a study to examine gaps in public health protection provided by the farm-to-table food safety system under the purview of the FDA and identify opportunities to fill those gaps. The Committee is composed of 12 experts from academia, industry and public health.

National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection

CFI volunteer, Michael Kowalcyk recently completed his third 2-year appointment to USDA’s National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI), The major role of NACMPI is to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on food safety policies that will contribute to USDA's regulatory policy development. NACMPI’s agenda is set by USDA and driven by current food safety issues of concern to consumers and policy issues that affect USDA or any food regulatory agency.

Additional Information on NACMPI

National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods

CFI’s Director of Food Safety, Barbara Kowalcyk, has served two 2-year appointments to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF), a scientific advisory board that provides impartial, scientific advice to federal food safety agencies for use in the development of an integrated, national food safety system approach from farm to final consumption to assure the safety of domestic, imported, and exported foods. NACMCF is co-sponsored by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the Department of Defense Veterinary Service Activity.

Additional Information on NACMCF

Partnership for Food Safety Education

CFI’s Executive Director, Patricia Buck, serves on the Board of Directors for the Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE). PFSE is a non-profit education organization that works to improve public health through research-based, actionable consumer food safety initiatives that reduce foodborne illness. PFSE unites representatives from industry associations, professional societies in food science, nutrition and health consumer groups, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration in important initiatives to educate the public about preventing foodborne illness.

Additional Information on PFSE

The Pew Charitable Trusts

CFI is collaborating with The Pew Charitable Trusts to produce a scientific white paper on the long-term health effects of foodborne illness. The paper, which is expected to be published in Fall 2009, will review the current literature on the long-term health effects of selected foodborne pathogens, identify gaps and suggest future research.

Additional Information on Pew’s Food Safety Initiative

Produce Safety Project, A Pew Initiative

CFI’s Director of Food Safety, Barbara Kowalcyk, serves on the Advisory Board for Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute’s Produce Safety Project (PSP), a Pew Initiative. PSP is aimed at establishing mandatory and enforceable safety standards for domestic and imported fresh produce from farm to fork. PSP promotes federal food safety regulation that is based on prevention, scientifically sound risk assessment and management, and coordinated/integrated data collection.

Additional Information on the Produce Safety Project

Safe Food Coalition

CFI is an active member of the Safe Food Coalition (SFC), a group of consumer, public health, whistleblower and labor organizations created in 1986 with the goal of reducing foodborne illness by improving government food inspection programs. SFC was founded by Carol Tucker Foreman, former Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Food and Consumer Services (1977-1981) and Distinguished Fellow of the Food Policy Institute at Consumer Federation of America. Currently, Chris Waldrop, Director of CFA’s Food Policy Institute, is serving as SFC’s coordinator.

SFC member organizations, besides CFI, currently include:

 

Make Our Food Safe Coalition

For more information on the Make Our Food Safe Coalition please visit www.makeourfoodsafe.org