CDC and the Food Safety Modernization Act

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is charged with implementing most of the laws, rules and guidance that are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), but CDC plays a key role.

The act, signed into law in 2011, seeks to protect public health more effectively by strengthening the food safety system.  FSMA focuses on preventing food safety problems before they occur and recognizes the importance of strong foodborne illness and outbreak surveillance systems.  Rapidly detecting and responding to foodborne disease outbreaks is crucial to stop outbreaks, prevent them from happening, and ultimately decrease the burden of foodborne illness.

FSMA directs CDC to enhance foodborne illness surveillance systems through improved collection, analysis, and reporting of foodborne illness data.  CDC supports FSMA with four key activities:

• Creation and management of Integrated Food Safety Centers of Excellence with academic partners at state health departments to serve as resources for local, state and federal public health professionals to detect and respond to foodborne illnesses and outbreaks
• Implementation of activities to improve the collection, analysis, and reporting of foodborne surveillance data supported by guidance from a multidisciplinary working group
• Development and dissemination of guidelines to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools and early childhood education programs.