(FDA: Rockville, Maryland) -- To protect domestic and imported food from contamination, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched its Food Protection Plan in 2007. Now, the FDA has issued “The One-Year Summary of Progress under the Food Protection Plan,” which describes FDA’s efforts to date.

The Food Protection Plan’s three core strategies are the prevention of outbreaks of food-borne disease, and intervention and response if they occur. Along with outreach to other countries, increased interaction with federal, state, and local partners, and the formation of an internal risk-based steering committee, the FDA is working to improve the targeting of risk-based inspections and sampling to focus resources where they will have the greatest effect.

Among the highlights of the agency’s accomplishments, the FDA is working with industry and the public to identify best practices for tracing fresh produce throughout the supply chain. The FDA has enhanced the agency’s ability to coordinate a comprehensive response to food-borne illness events by authoring tools used to track emergency response resources and other locations of interest.

For further information, visit www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01917.html.

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