US report recommends improved surveillance of food-borne illnessA recently published report from the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University in the USA makes a number of key food safety recommendations based on a study of food safety data collection in the EU.
The report, titled Building the Science Foundation of a Modern Food Safety System, sets out the results of extensive research and interviews with representatives of European food safety authorities, particularly in Denmark, The Netherlands and the UK. These countries were selected because they have introduced reforms to improve the science base and risk assessment of food safety controls.
Based on their research, the report's authors recommend that the USA should publish a cross-agency report on tracking food-borne pathogens in humans, animals, food and feed, summarising surveillance data of food-borne disease outbreaks. The report would also cover the prevalence of pathogens in animals and food. The report would provide baseline data so that progress could be measures accurately and to allow trends to be identified.
Other recommendations in the report include improved capacity for integrated food safety analysis, better research coordination and enhanced traceability in the food chain. Copies of the report can be found on the project web site via the link below.
http://www.producesafetyproject.org
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