Coordinating Expanded Educational and Outreach Opportunities For Georgia's Food Safety and Defense Task Force

Project Abstract:The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) has announced theavailability of up to $10,000 per year through 2018 to be awarded under the support for Conferencesand Scientific meetings to Food Protection Task Forces. The development of Food Protection Task Forceshas allowed states to organize meetings to foster communication, cooperation, and collaboration withinthe State among State, local, tribal, and territorial food protection, public health, agriculture, andregulatory agencies. The meetings provide a forum for all stakeholders of the food protection system,assist in adopting or implementing the Food Code and other food protection regulations, and promotethe integration of an efficient statewide food safety/defense system that maximizes the protection ofpublic health through prevention, intervention and response including the early detection andcontamination of foodborne illness.The purpose of the Georgia Food Safety and Defense Task Force (GaFSTF) group is to establish betterlines of communication between all stakeholders - including federal, state, industry and local agencies -in order to ensure effective and efficient response to food defense and food safety issues, waterbornehazards and other public health problems. All members of the GaFSTF are volunteers who believe in thegoal of an integrated food safety system for the State of Georgia. Currently, the group conducts twomeetings per year to discuss relevant national and state issues, including current issues that require amulti-agency response. The focus is on food safety and defense.Active members of the GaFSTF include representatives from FDA and U.S. Department of AgricultureFood Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS), both regionally and in the Atlanta District; the Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); GeorgiaDepartments of Agriculture (GDA), Education (DoE) and Public Health (DPH); Georgia universities andcolleges; the Georgia Food Industry Association, Georgia Restaurant Association, Georgia Food BankAssociation, and Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and other industry associations;district and county health departments and various members of the food service and retail andmanufactured food sales industries. In 2013, a GaFSTF Executive Committee was created, made up ofnine members from FDA, CDC, GDA and DPH. This group is charged with helping the task force achieveits mission and objectives, and coordinating annual meetings.During meetings, presentations are made by speakers who are knowledgeable on current topics in foodsafety and defense including, the Georgia Food and Feed Rapid Response Team (GaRRT),Manufacturing/Retail/Feed Program Standards, FDA Reportable Food Registry, Food SafetyModernization Act, the Food Code, and more. Topics for discussion include relevant public health issues,such as foodborne illness and outbreak incidents; recalls, tracebacks and other investigations;information/data sharing; uniform standards and regulations; food safety legislation; consumereducation, training and certification and more.The GaFSTF, as part of this application, will maintain annual meetings in addition to sponsoring oneannual large-scale conference, training, or conference event that will be open to an extended group ofstakeholders, and will cross-promote an integrated food safety system by partnering with likemindedorganizations and other task forces across the region and nationally. This application describes the taskforce goals for the next several years, detailing slated topics and outreach concepts that will be appliedto various food protection audiences.