Surveillance Webinar: Surveillance of Common Foodborne Illness in the U.S.-Surveillance Webinar: Surveillance of Common Foodborne Illness in the U.S. Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The webinar, part of the American College of Preventive Medicine’s National Education Curriculum, focused on surveillance systems and environmental health, featuring Dr. Andrew Karasik from the FDA. Dr. Karasik introduced FDA’s role in regulating about 80% of the U.S. food supply, explaining the complex division between FDA and USDA oversight. He highlighted key foodborne pathogens like Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli, Shigella, norovirus, parasites, and discussed physical and rare radiologic hazards in foods, illustrating FDA’s multi-faceted approach in food safety surveillance and recalls.<br /><br />Key FDA surveillance systems were described, including the Human Foods Complaint System (HFCS), a passive reporting system combining voluntary consumer and mandatory manufacturer reports, and active systems like FoodNet and PulseNet, which enable outbreak tracking and identification through whole genome sequencing. Dr. Karasik addressed underreporting issues, with estimated reporting of serious foodborne illnesses at about 2%, and emphasized the importance of clinician reporting in identifying emerging food safety threats.<br /><br />Practical case examples covered recalls involving Listeria-contaminated imported mushrooms and cheese, choking hazards from konjac-based confections, radiologic contamination in imported seafood, and misuse of FDA-regulated products like nitrous oxide canisters. He also demonstrated how health professionals and consumers can submit food safety reports via the FDA’s Safety Reporting Portal to aid early detection and response.<br /><br />The Q&A session clarified reporting benefits, interagency collaboration in multi-jurisdictional investigations, challenges posed by the fragmented regulatory system, and resource limitations in supplement surveillance. The presentation concluded by encouraging ongoing engagement through surveys, discussions on the ACPM platform, and upcoming related workshops.

Keywords

FDA food regulation

foodborne pathogens

food safety surveillance

Human Foods Complaint System

FoodNet

PulseNet

whole genome sequencing

food recalls

Listeria contamination

food safety reporting

interagency collaboration