Attachment A Winnable battles 12 13

CDC - Winnable Battles - Food Safety

Attachment A

Page 1 of 3

Food Safety

Foodborne diseases affect tens of millions of people and kill
thousands in the United States each year. They also cause billions of dollars in healthcarerelated and industry costs annually.
CDC has identified reducing foodborne diseases as a winnable battle. With additional effort
and support for evidence-based, cost-effective strategies that we can implement now, we will
have a significant impact on our nation's health.
This food safety briefing folder provides a snapshot of the context and background for this
priority area, as well as descriptions of some of the systems, policy, and programmatic
interventions pursued by CDC and our public health partners at the federal, state and local
levels. This information will be updated periodically as new data or relevant information
becomes available.
For more information or if you have questions about the materials provided here, please
contact [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Food Safety Briefing Materials:
• Introduction letter from CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden

[PDF - 50KB]

(/winnablebattles/foodsafety/pdf/foodsafety_wb_letter.pdf)

• PowerPoint slides, which can be tailored for your use by adding specific data, case studies,
and other useful information
[PPT - 4.8MB]
(/winnablebattles/foodsafety/ppt/wb_foodsafety_presentation.pptx)

• At-a-glance, which provides an overview of the major issues, CDC's role in reducing
foodborne diseases, and future directions and opportunities
[PDF - 1000KB]
(/winnablebattles/foodsafety/pdf/foodsafety_wb_at_a_glance.pdf)

• Vital Signs (/vitalsigns/FoodSafety) , which provides the latest findings about what can be
done to reduce foodborne illness and why it is a public health priority.
• Foodborne Illness Surveillance Systems (/foodborneburden/surveillance-systems.html)
• Summary of major related published articles
[PDF - 210KB]
(/winnablebattles/foodsafety/pdf/foodsafety_wb_key_scientific_articles.pdf)

Supplemental materials include:
• CDC Works for You 24/7 – Deadly Listeria Outbreak Halted in Record Time
(http://www.cdc.gov/24-7/SavingLives/listeria/)

• Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance Resources (/outbreaknet/surveillance_data.html)

http://www.cdc.gov/WinnableBattles/FoodSafety/index.html

10/29/2013

CDC - Winnable Battles - Food Safety

• Food Safety Policy Issues

Page 2 of 3

[PDF - 206KB]

(/winnablebattles/foodsafety/pdf/foodsafety_wb_policy_brief.pdf)

• Snapshot of major media coverage

[PDF - 267KB]

(/winnablebattles/foodsafety/pdf/foodsafety_wb_media_snapshot.pdf)

• Select bibliography

[PDF - 194KB]

(/winnablebattles/foodsafety/pdf/foodsafety_wb_selectbibliography.pdf)

• Scientific articles
◦ MMWR: Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks – United States, 2008
(http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6035a3.htm?s_cid=mm6035a3_w)

◦ Foodborne Illness—Major Pathogens

[PDF - 212KB]

(http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/17/1/pdfs/09-1101p1.pdf)

◦ Foodborne Illness—Unspecified Agents

[PDF - 236KB]

(http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/17/1/pdfs/09-1101p2.pdf)

◦ MMWR: Preliminary FoodNet Data on the Incidence of Infection with Pathogens
Transmitted Commonly Through Food – 10 States, 2009
(http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5914a2.htm)

◦ Salmonella enteric Serotype Enteridis and Eggs: A National Epidemic in the United
States
[PDF - 135KB] (http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/43/4/512.full.pdf)
(http://www.cdc.gov/Other/disclaimer.html)

◦ Factors Associated with Food Workers Working while Experiencing Vomiting or
Diarrhea
[PDF - 189KB] (/nceh/ehs/EHSNet/Docs/JFP_ill_food_workers.pdf)
• Fact sheets
◦ Foodborne Illness Surveillance Systems
[PDF - 102KB]
(/foodborneburden/PDFs/FACTSHEET_G_SURVEILLANCE.pdf)

◦ 2011 Estimates of Foodborne Illness Fact Sheets
■ CDC 2011 Estimates: Findings (/foodborneburden/2011-foodborne-estimates.html)
■ Improvements in 2011 Estimates (/foodborneburden/improvements-inestimates.html)

■ Data and Methodological Differences, 2011 and 1999 (/foodborneburden/differences
-in-estimates.html)

◦ Trends in Foodborne Illness in the United States, 1996–2010

[PDF - 378KB]

(http://www.cdc.gov/winnablebattles/FoodSafety/pdf/Trends_in_Foodborne_Illness.pdf)
◦ Norovirus (/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus.htm)
■ Norovirus Illness: Key Facts (/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-keyfacts.htm)
■ Norovirus: Facts for Food Handlers (/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirusfoodhandlers.htm)

■ Surveillance & Disease Burden

[PDF - 1.80MB]

(/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/downloads/norovirus-surv-disease-burden.pdf)

◦ Environmental Health Services

[PDF - 155 KB]

(/nceh/ehs/Docs/Factsheets/EHSB_Fact_Sheet.pdf)

◦ Ill Food Worker Study

[PDF - 110KB]

(/nceh/ehs/EHSNet/Docs/EHS_Net_Ill_Worker.pdf)

Page last reviewed: November 17, 2011
Page last updated: September 13, 2012
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA
30333, USA

http://www.cdc.gov/WinnableBattles/FoodSafety/index.html

10/29/2013

January 14, 2011

Dear Colleague:
Foodborne diseases affect tens of millions of people and kill thousands in the United States each year.
They also cause billions of dollars in healthcare-related and industry costs annually. In 2010, just one
foodborne outbreak sickened thousands of people throughout the country and led to the recall of
approximately a half-billion eggs.
We need to ensure that all Americans have access to foods that are both healthy and safe. Reducing the
adverse health and economic consequences of foodborne illnesses is a key goal of the new Food Safety
Modernization Act, the first major change to food safety laws in the United States since 1938. The
legislation lays the foundation for a prevention-based, 21st-century food safety system that makes
everyone in the global food chain responsible for safety. The act requires CDC to strengthen the capacity
of state and local health departments to respond to foodborne outbreaks and improve the coordination and
integration of surveillance systems and laboratory networks. In addition to developing a national strategy
for food safety, CDC will support the Food and Drug Administration as it implements new hazard
analysis, prevention, performance, and training activities required by the law.
CDC has had a successful history of tracking, rapidly detecting, and investigating foodborne diseases and
outbreaks through national networks such as FoodNet and PulseNet. As a result, several foodborne
diseases have declined since 1998. Most notably, by 2010, E. coli O157 infections were reduced by
almost 50%, reaching the Healthy People 2010 objective one year ahead of schedule. Salmonella
infections, however, had not declined at all, confirming that much more needs to be done to reduce
foodborne illnesses.
Our two primary food safety goals are to decrease the number of Salmonella and other food-related
illnesses, and to accelerate the public health response to foodborne illness at the local, national, and global
levels. CDC is taking action to achieve these goals in the following ways:
•
•
•
•

Developing new methods in epidemiology, laboratory science, and environmental health;
Supporting local, state, federal, and global partners;
Improving communications with the public health community, industry, and consumers; and
Targeting information to guide food safety policy.

Through effective leadership and innovation, support from our partners, and targeted information to drive

public health policies, we can substantially decrease foodborne diseases.

Sincerely,

Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.

Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention