The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) — a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — has published its upcoming priorities for calendar years 2024-28.

IFSAC remains focused on generating the most accurate and actionable estimates for foodborne illness source attribution in the United States by leveraging the latest science, data, and methods. IFSAC will continue to publish updated estimates of foods contributing to foodborne illness through annual reports and peer-reviewed scientific publications. Four priorities will guide its work for the next five years:

• Improve foodborne illness source attribution estimates for Campylobacter;
• Develop foodborne illness source attribution estimates for non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC);
• Finalize existing analyses; and
• Refine foodborne illness source attribution estimates using data from non-foodborne sources of pathogens.

IFSAC was established in 2011 to improve coordination of federal food safety analytics efforts and address cross-cutting priorities for food safety data collection, analysis, and use. Since its inception, IFSAC’s focus has been foodborne illness source attribution, with an emphasis on four priority pathogens: Campylobacter, E. coli O157, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella. IFSAC regularly communicates its findings to government partners, industry, academia, and consumer organizations.

For more information on IFSAC projects, visit cdc.gov/foodsafety/ifsac or email IFSAC@fda.hhs.gov.

Source: USDA