The Healthy People 2020 initiative recently held a public webinar to update stakeholders on progress toward food safety objectives. Addressing the goals to reduce infections from pathogens commonly transmitted through food, Roberta Wagner, deputy director for regulatory affairs at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), cited new tools provided under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The mandatory recall authority was used twice in 2013 to remove Salmonella-tainted pet treats and adulterated dietary supplements from the market, she said, and administrative detection authority has been used six times since FSMA was enacted. “The rates of Salmonellosis have not decreased significantly since the inception of FoodNet – so for more than 15 years,” said David Goldman, assistant administrator of the Office of Public Health Science in the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). “FSIS is tackling Salmonella through more stringent industry performance standards and implementation of an agency action plan.”
