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Newswise — Washington D.C. — Food safety is a global public good and foodborne diseases (FBDs) are a significant source of illness and mortality around the world. As food supply networks become more globalized, food safety practices impact more than just those producing and processing the products. Whole food industries are vulnerable, as are affected populations of consumers. Food safety training and capacity building efforts can address concerns about FBDs.

However, to know if such training and capacity building efforts are working, the of these efforts needs to be documented and examined.  Assessing such impact can help justify and galvanize future efforts or shift the focus to new or improved methods. These assessments need to be based on direct data, which needs to be shared for maximum understanding and utility.

Out of shared interest, this June 15 free “” brings representatives from the public and private sectors together to consider how to build a data sharing platform. The goal of this platform is for government, industry, the scientific community, and other stakeholders to agree on what data is needed to measure impact, to determine what data is already being collected, and to work toward greater data sharing and understanding.

If successful, this Public-Private Partnership is expected to both help government fulfill its mandate to improve food safety and enable companies providing food into the U.S. food chain to meet their obligations under the Food Safety Modernization Act. It may also protect these businesses from food shocks caused by FBD events. For other countries and donors, lessons learned will aid them in shaping their own investments in food safety capacity efforts.

Please join UMD-JIFSAN, IAFNS, and Structured Partnerships at the June 15 Listening Session and stay for the full IAFNS scientific conference that follows. The event is a part of the

Sign-up for the Listening Session.

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