STOP Foodborne Illness announced today that the organization has finalized recommendations to the FDA to modernize the nation’s food recall system.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA, July 13, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Nonprofit STOP Foodborne Illness Delivers Plan to Improve Consumer Food Recalls in Conjunction with First Anniversary of FDA’s ‘New Era for Smarter Food Safety Plan’

Recommendations Will Modernize System to Protect Consumers

CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 – STOP Foodborne Illness, a public health nonprofit dedicated to the prevention of illness from foodborne pathogens, announced today that the organization has finalized recommendations to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to modernize the nation’s food recall system. Titled “Collaborative Plan to Achieve Customer-Focused Recall Modernization,” the document outlines the steps needed for the U.S. to improve its antiquated and disjointed recall process. Importantly, the FDA made updating procedures for reaching consumers about potentially unsafe food products a priority when it issued its New Era for Smarter Food Safety blueprint last year on July 13, 2020. The nation’s aging food recall system was most recently enhanced five years ago.

“For nearly a year, we’ve engaged with collaborators representing the nation’s leading food manufacturers, retailers and scholars to develop an innovative, consumer-focused process that can be implemented to update and upgrade our nation’s ability to inform the public about food recalls,” said Dr. Ben Chapman, co-chair of the STOP Foodborne Illness board and Professor and Food Safety Extension Specialist at North Carolina State University. “Without question, reaching people about potential food safety issues quickly and effectively is critical to public health. We believe that the recommendations our working group produced will positively impact public health and save lives.”

The working group’s proposals will be delivered to Dr. Janet Woodcock, FDA Acting Commissioner, and to Frank Yiannas, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response.

“At STOP, we connect with consumers, the food industry and regulators to promote food safety and education,” said Mitzi Baum, CEO of STOP Foodborne Illness. “Because we bridge all of these constituencies, we bring a collaborative mindset to our work and seek solutions that can be broadly adopted. To that end, we have initiated a conversation with the United States Department of Agriculture to enlist that department’s support in our ongoing efforts to enhance the safety of the U.S. food supply.”

Food safety is a core element of the FDA’s “New Era” plan as the agency seeks to strengthen food safety across the food chain, from farms and production facilities to consumers’ homes. STOP Foodborne Illness -- which was founded in response to the 1993 E. coli outbreak that contaminated fast food, ultimately killing four children and sickening hundreds more – plays a key role in heightening awareness of food safety and its impact.

For more information about STOP Foodborne Illness, visit stopfoodborneillness.org. To access the “Collaborative Plan to Achieve Customer-Focused Recall Modernization,” visit the STOP Foodborne Illness website.

Jaime Mann
Stop Foodborne Illness
+1 8475023825
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