The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) is strongly urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to revise decade-old food-borne illness statistics which are widely referenced by public health officials, regulatory agencies and congressional staff when discussing food-borne illnesses.
Booren also reinforced how accurate and timelier food-borne illness attribution data is critically needed to improve the safety of the U.S. food supply.“This objective data allows food safety stakeholders to allocate food safety resources and scientifically justify the decisions made in their food safety system,” Booren writes.
“By having timely, credible food attribution data, the food industry can accurately identify and improve any food safety gaps that may exist. It also may help to identify emerging food-borne risks, especially when such risks have not been previously associated with specific foods. This rapid adjustment to improve food safety can only occur if accurate data is made available as soon as possible to all food safety stakeholders.”
“AMI Foundation recognizes the challenges of accurately estimating the burden of food-borne disease and accurately attributing these burdens to food types, but these metrics are essential. The last decade has shown the important role cooperation and communication between public health officials, regulators, the food industry and other allied stakeholders has had on improving food safety. This collaborative story of success could be affirmed through the update of the Mead et al. estimation of the burden of food-borne disease,” Booren concludes.