FSIS Requests Data on Cross-contamination of Food

July 7, 2006 — 

The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is seeking quantitative data from studies involving observations of retail and home food handlers to evaluate behaviors likely to contribute to the transfer of bacteria to foods unlikely to receive further cooking.

The FSIS is interested in identifying food handling behaviors that may contribute to the transfer of foodborne bacteria to foods such as salads and ready-to-eat products and the frequency with which these behaviors occur. The Risk Assessment Division of FSIS' Office of Public Health Science plans to use the data collected in risk assessment modeling to estimate the public health impact of the presence of various bacterial foodborne pathogens in meat, poultry, and egg products. Information is needed on the following two topics: (1) Food handling behaviors and their frequency and (2) transfer rate of bacterial foodborne pathogens.

These risk assessments are used to evaluate intervention strategies to reduce foodborne risks and to guide, support, and enhance the Agency's overall decision-making process, risk-management policies, outreach efforts, data collection initiatives, and research priorities.

Source:
Federal Register