Government Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) homepage
The CDC is at the heart of the government's fight against foodborne illness outbreak. When an outbreak occurs, the CDC will inevitably be part of the resulting investigation into the cause of the outbreak. This website contains a lot of useful information, both general and technical. You can also find the online version of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Review (or, MMWR), which is the government's primary publication for disseminating information about communicable disease statistics and other epidemiological research.
Economic Research Service - U.S. Department of Agriculture
The Economic Research Service (or "ERS"), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides economic analysis on issues related to agriculture, food, and the environment. Not all of its research reports are available (in full-text versions) on-line, but the reports are easy to order, and definitely worth reading. Of particular interest is the ERS research on the medical and productivity costs of foodborne illness in the United States. So, next time your hungry for some numbers, this is an excellent place to look for some.
Product Liability and Microbial Foodborne Illness. (pdf) This report examines how product liability law treats personal injuries attributed to microbially contaminated foods. The risk of lawsuits stemming from microbial foodborne illness and the resulting court-awarded compensation may create economic incentives for firms to produce safer food. It is not known how many consumers seek compensation for damages from contaminated foods because information about complaints and legal claims involving foodborne illness is not readily accessible, especially for cases that are settled out of court. Reviewing the outcomes of 175 jury trials involving foodborne pathogens, the analysis identifies several factors that influence trial outcomes.
This online handbook provides basic facts about foodborne pathogens, and brings together in one place information from the FDA, CDC, National Institutes of Health, and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. IT IS AN EXCELLENT RESOURCE THAT WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
The Gateway to Government Food Safety Information
This is a gateway website that provides links to selected government food safety-related information. Not every government website is listed, but it is still an excellent place to begin your research for more general information.
Government Accountability Project
This excellent site is for the rabble-rouser in all of us, providing an internet resource for information about whistle-blowing, government wrongdoing, and official misconduct of all kinds. Be sure to check out the excellent section on food safety, which features an expose' of the substandard food that sometimes makes its way into the National School Lunch Program. Do you REALLY know what your kids are eating at school?
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (or, FSIS) is the public health agency that is responsible for ensuring (or trying to ensure) that the nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled. Not without its critics, this website is still a helpful resource for finding out more about the regulations that govern food inspection.
FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
This government website is primarily devoted to the information available from the FDA, including press releases, proposed changes in food safety regulations, and other more technical information about the FDA's regulatory activities. It provides helpful information about how to contact various of the FDA's agencies, how to propose regulations, and how to make Freedom of Information Act requests.