Top 7 Food Safety Organizations You Need to Know About

Khushboo Batta3/2/2022

What is food safety organizations ?

Food safety organizations work to prevent food-borne illnesses by managing and coordinating food production, processing, and preparation. They do this through inspection, education, training, research, and public health initiatives. After the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a series of reports in December 2016 that confirmed widespread structural failures in the inspections process at a major chicken producer, the company was shut down for more than a month. This shutdown came after months of FSIS warnings of food safety problems at Pilgrim's Pride Corporation. As a result, Pilgrim's Pride has taken significant steps since then to improve its food safety program. Here are some ways to ensure your food is safe when it comes out of the kitchen.

What Is A Food Safety Organization

Food safety is non-negotiable. So, to ensure that each and every edible item is safe for consumption, food safety organizations were constituted. They act as watchdogs of the entire food chain from food production to food processing, food preparation, and food handling.

They conduct inspection programs at processing plants to check if food safety standards are being followed. Their main goal is to protect and promote public health by ensuring national food safety measures are in place.

There are separate food safety organizations to monitor different categories of products. For instance, US FDA United States Food and Drug Administration is responsible for keeping a check on medicines , drugs and dietary supplements. While FSIS food safety and inspection service looks after production and processing of meat and poultry there are no food safety issues .

USDA

The US Department Agriculture was founded by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. It now has 29 government agencies handling food safety inspections, rural economic development .

The United States Department Agriculture is responsible for overseeing food , agriculture and nutrition. It formulates and issues guidelines on food safety and quality.

It makes sure that supply of meat and poultry and egg products is safe and properly labeled.

The Department Agriculture also operates schemes for rural development and welfare schemes like school meal nutrition , food assistance for women and infants.

USDA monitors and implements programs related to farming, ranching and forestry.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a federal government agency under the Department of Health and Human Services.

As the name suggests, CDC is responsible for protecting public health by formulating guidelines on disease control and prevention.

It issues advisories on safe food cooking and storing temperatures, food handling, and more to prevent foodborne disease.

It creates awareness among the public regarding any outbreaks. For instance, CDC had issued an alert on its website stating, E-Coli outbreak was linked to green salad sold by a grocery brand. It warned them to not use these boxes or they could suffer from a foodborne disease like stomach infection.

From time to time, it issues reports on foodborne illness, its causes, symptoms, and preventions. It educates people on hygienic ways of cooking and food handling.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works with partners like US FDA, Food safety and inspection service (FSIS) to determine the main sources of foodborne diseases and the annual numbers of people infected and who died due to such illnesses. It also collaborates with animal health partners and consumers to promote food safety.

It implements systems to detect and prevent outbreaks and safety hazards linked to food items.

CDC works with other countries as well as international food agencies to track and prevent foodborne illness around the globe.

CDC-World Health Organization Collaboration

World Health Organization is one of the array of partners of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

They work together to identify and combat the various diseases around the world and conduct research related to public health and provide assistance for outbreak investigation, building laboratory.

Recently, WHO and CDC worked on early detection and identification seasonal influenza viruses and novel influenza A virus that may have pandemic potential, as stated on CDC website.

In 2015, CDC and WHO collaborated for technical and financial aid to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in Africa.

CFSAN/Food Safety Education Foundation

CFSAN or Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is one of the six centers that provide assistance in the mission of the Food and Drug Administration( FDA) .

Its aim is to protect and promote public health. It safeguards food , cosmetics and dietary supplements worth $1.5 trillion.

Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition ensures effective food safety practices are followed during food processing and food handling .

Uses modern methods to track and kill harmful germs .

FSMA

The Food Safety Modernization Act was signed in 2011 by then-President Barack Obama.

The FSMA Act authorizes the Food And Drug Administration FDA to regulate the way food products -- fruits vegetables and cereals are grown, harvested, and processed.

The FSMA or Food Safety Modernization Act bestows FDA with powers lines mandatory recalls.

The act came into existence after millions of cases of foodborne disease were reported in the early 2000s.

FSMA governs all aspects of the food system from farmers to food processing and manufacturing, food additives, and imported food, to keep Food Safe.

The provisions include several rules and regulations on farmers and food processors to prevent food contamination .

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The United States Food And Drug Administration is one of the government agencies of the Health Department. It looks after tobacco products, dietary supplements, medicines, and drugs as part of its main to promote and protect public health.

The United States Food And Drug Administration is mainly responsible for enforcement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. It also enforces section 361 of the Public Health Service Act.

A few months ago in Oct 2021, US FDA issued guidance to the food industry regarding reducing sodium levels used in processed foods. It stated that "Americans consume on average 3,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day nearly 50% more than the 2,300 mg limit recommended by federal guidelines for people 14 years and older. Recommended limits for children 13 and younger are even lower."

Citing strong evidence, it said, The science supporting the relationship between sodium reduction and health is clear- When sodium intake increases, blood pressure increases, and high blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke two leading causes of death in the U.S.

US FDA issues research and guidance material on food safety education from time to time.

As of 2021, US FDA was looking after food, drugs, and tobacco products worth $2.7 trillion.

Codex alimentarius and food safety

Well, technically Codex alimentarius is not a Food Safety organization, but it provides international recognized Food Safety standards and codes on food production, food handling and food labeling.

This collection of Food Safety standards is developed by Codex alimentarius commission (CAC) , constituted by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN in 1961 . Later, was joined by WHO in June 1962.

The commission's main objective is to protect consumer health .