Activities and Events

International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Conference in Portland, OR (July 2015)

• “Application of a Bayesian Frequency-matching Model for Attributing Salmonellosis to FDA and FSIS Regulated Products,” July 26, 2015 (oral presentation)
• “A Two-stage Statistical Model to Estimate Outbreak-based Food Source Attribution for Four Major Foodborne Pathogens,” July 26, 2015 (oral presentation)
• “Evaluating Uncertainties in Source Attribution Based on Foodborne Outbreak Data,” July 26, 2015 (oral presentation)

Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) Annual Educational Conference in Indianapolis, IN (June 2015)

• “The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration,” June 24, 2015 (oral presentation)

IFSAC Public Meeting in Washington, DC (February 24, 2015)

IFSAC presenters provided updates on completed and ongoing projects, focusing on a key project where IFSAC developed, for the first time, a single approach to produce harmonized foodborne illness source attribution estimates from outbreak data for Salmonella, Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter. IFSAC provided an overview of the project approach, analytical methods, results, and the utility of estimated attribution.

Objectives :

• Share IFSAC’s progress toward our goals.
• Engage with the public and our food safety partners on IFSAC work to improve foodborne illness source attribution.
• Solicit feedback on plans for future IFSAC endeavors.

Transcript and Webcast:

• Webcast of the Public Meeting
• Transcript of the Public Meeting [PDF – 100 pages]
  

  Webcast Recording Disclaimer:This public meeting, held February 24, 2015, was recorded live and real-time closed captioning was provided. Viewers of the recorded webcast will notice some errors in the closed captioning of the presentations, which is to be expected during a live event. The written transcript is the official record of the public meeting. Errors have been corrected. 

Meeting Materials: Agenda [PDF – 2 page], IFSAC Overview [PDF – 1 page], IFSAC Speaker Biographies [PDF – 3 pages], Panelist Biographies [PDF – 3 pages], IFSAC Project Report [PDF – 12 pages], Project Report Summary [PDF – 1 page]

Presentations: Meeting Welcome [PDF – 2 pages], IFSAC History [PDF – 9 pages], Project Overview [PDF – 36 pages], Estimating Attribution [PDF – 68 pages], FSIS Future Application [PDF – 9 pages], FDA Future Application [PDF – 12 pages], IFSAC Future Directions [PDF – 20 pages]

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) Conference in Nashville, TN (June 2014)

• “Using Multiple Sources of Surveillance Data to Attribute Foodborne Illnesses,” June 24, 2014 (oral presentation)

IFSAC Webinar entitled, “Are Outbreak Illnesses Representative of Sporadic Illnesses?” (January 10, 2014)

• Presenters shared an analysis comparing the characteristics of illnesses associated with foodborne outbreaks with those that are not linked to outbreaks.
• Webinar | Webinar addendum [PDF – 1 page] | Presentation slides [PDF – 36 pages] | Presentation transcript [PDF – 12 pages]

International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Conference in Charlotte, NC (July 2013) – IFSAC symposium entitled, “U.S. Interagency Collaboration on Foodborne Illness Source Attribution,” featuring the following presentations:

• “Categorizing Foods from Outbreaks into Commodity Groups: An Improved Method,” July 30, 2013 (oral presentation)
• “Evaluation of Outbreak Data as Representative of Sporadic Illness Data for Purposes of Estimating Foodborne Illness Source Attribution,” July 30, 2013 (oral presentation)
• “Blending Attribution Estimates Derived from FoodNet Case-control Studies and Outbreak Data to Estimate the Proportion of Salmonella Enteritidis Illnesses Caused by Major Commodities,” July 30, 2013 (oral presentation)

American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL (July 2013)

•  “The chicken and the egg – a study of source attribution estimates for Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis,” July 22, 2013 (oral presentation)

IFSAC Webinar entitled, “Improving the Categories Used to Classify Foods Implicated in Outbreaks” (June 18, 2013)

• The tri-agency collaboration held its first webinar to discuss the improvements to the food categorization scheme used by regulatory agencies to inform food safety decision-making.
• Watch the webinar | Presentation slides [PDF – 36 pages] | Presentation transcript [PDF – 6 pages]

Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA (December 2012)

• “Challenges Associated with Using Human Surveillance Data for Foodborne Illness Source Attribution”, December 9, 2012 (oral presentation)

IFSAC Public Meeting in Washington, DC (January 31, 2012)

The purpose of this public meeting was to discuss federal efforts to advance understanding of foodborne illness source attribution and to develop a path forward towards harmonized estimates for priority foodborne pathogens among CDC and the regulatory agencies. The objectives of the public meeting were to:

• Update and engage stakeholders on federal agency foodborne illness attribution work
• Present the path forward as described in the draft IFSAC strategic plan and supporting projects
• Solicit public feedback on IFSAC work and overall federal efforts to improve foodborne illness source attribution
• Meeting Archive

Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) Annual Meeting in Charleston, SC (December 2011)

• “Interagency Food Safety Analytics”, December 5, 2011 (oral presentation)

FDA Risk Communication Advisory Committee Meeting in Silver Spring, MD (August 15, 2011)

The committee discussed the challenges of communicating about evolving methods in the attribution of foodborne illness and provided input and feedback to IFSAC team members on work completed thus far and efforts to communicate findings with stakeholders.

• Background Materials
• Presentation, Transcript, Minutes

IFSAC Public Meeting in Portland, OR (October 20, 2010)

The purpose of this public meetings was for the Agencies to gather information from stakeholders, including the regulated food industry, state regulators, and consumer groups, on the metrics the participants are using to assess performance in food safety. The Agencies were also interested in additional input from participants on their understanding and perceptions of metrics currently being used by the Federal agencies. Foodborne illness source attribution was a subject of conversation and discussion.

• Portland Meeting News Release
• Portland Meeting Federal Register Notice
• Portland Meeting Agenda

IFSAC Public Meeting in Chicago, IL (July 21, 2010)

The purpose of this public meetings was for the Agencies to gather information from stakeholders, including the regulated food industry, state regulators, and consumer groups, on the metrics the participants are using to assess performance in food safety. The Agencies were also interested in additional input from participants on their understanding and perceptions of metrics currently being used by the Federal agencies. Foodborne illness source attribution was a subject of conversation and discussion.

• Chicago Meeting News Release
• Chicago Meeting Federal Register Notice
• Chicago Meeting Agenda
• Transcript of Chicago Meeting, July 21, 2010[PDF – 208 pages]

IFSAC Public Workshop entitled “Measuring Progress on Food Safety: Current Status and Future Directions” in Washington, DC (March 30, 2010)

The purpose of the FDA-hosted workshop was to inform the public about current measurements for assessing progress in food safety and associated methodological issues and to discuss potential improvements.