US food safety groups to hold January 2012 meeting

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold a public meeting to discuss federal efforts to enhance food safety strategies through the improved use and characterization of foodborne illness source attribution. The meeting will be held in Washington, D.C., on January 31, 2012. The day-long meeting will discuss federal approaches to food source attribution, and outline efforts to develop harmonized food source attribution fractions for information on food safety strategies. The meeting also will be used to review a draft Strategic Plan developed by the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration, which was formed this year to increase collaboration on analytic projects. Those interested in attending the meeting should complete the electronic registration form. Advance registration closes on January 25, 2012. The final deadline to register to make public comments during the meeting is January 9, 2012. For questions regarding registration, contact Courtney Treece of Planning Professionals Ltd., at +1.704.258.4983 or ctreece@planningprofessionals.com. For general information, contact Juanita Yates, FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, at +1.240.402.1731 or juanita.yates@fda.hhs.gov.