A.1 Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations
AMS —Agricultural Marketing Service
APHIS —Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
ARS —Agricultural Research Service
BATF —Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
CDC —Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CFSAN —Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
CSREES —Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
CUSTOMS —US Customs Service
CVM —Center for Veterinary Medicine
DHHS —US Department of Health and Human Services
DOC —US Department of Commerce
DOD —US Department of Defence
EPA —US Environmental Protection Agency
ERS —Economic Research Service
FDA —Food and Drug Administration
FS —Under Secretary for Food Safety
FSIS —Food Safety and Inspection Service
FTC —Federal Trade Commission
GIPSA —Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
MRP —Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
NASS —National Agricultural Statistics Service
NCTR —National Center for Toxicological Research
NIH —National Institutes of Health
NMFS —National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA —National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
OECA —Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance
OPP —Office of Pesticide Programs
OPPTS —Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances
ORA —Office of Regulatory Affairs
ORACBA —Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis
ORD —Office of Research and Development
REE —Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics
TREASURY —US Department of Treasury
USDA —US Department of Agriculture
A.3 Federal Food Safety Responsibilities for Selected Food Products and Food Contaminants
Food Safety Activities |
Selected Food Products |
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Food Contaminants |
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Fruits & Vegetables |
Dairy Products |
Eggs & Egg Products |
Meat & Poultry |
Seafood |
Grain, Rice, & Related Commodities |
Imported Foods |
Animal Drugs & Feeds |
Pesticide Residues |
Monitoring/Surveillance |
CDCa; CFSAN & FDA |
CDCa; CFSAN/CVM/FDA |
CDCa; CFSAN/FDA;USDA: FSIS, ERSC |
CDCa; CFSAN & FDA |
CDCa; CVM/FDA; FSIS/USDA; APHIS |
CDCa; FSIS/USDA; CFSAN/FDA |
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Risk Assessmentg |
CFSAN/FDA; ARSh/USDA |
CFSAN; CVM/FDA ARSh/USDA |
ARSh, FSIS/USDA; ORACBA; CFSAN/FDA |
USDA: ARSh; CSREES, FSIS, ERS, ORACBA; CFSAN/FDA |
ARSh/USDA; CFSAN FDA |
Same as domestic food products. |
CVM/FDA; ARSh/USDA; APHIS/ |
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Researchl |
CFSAN; NCTR/FDA, USDA: ARS, CSREESm |
CFSAN; CVM/FDA, CSREESm & ARS/USDA |
CFSAN/FDA, ARS/USDA CSREESm |
USDA: CFSAN/CSREESm |
CVM & CFSAN/FDA;NMFS/NOAA; CSREESm & ARS/USDA |
ARS, CSREESm/USDA; CFSAN/FDA |
Same as domestic food productsn |
CFSAN & CVM/FDA; & ARS & CSREESm/USDA |
Inspections/Enforcement |
CFSAN & ORA/FDA |
CFSAN, ORA, & CVM/FDA |
FSISo/USDA; FDA: CVM, CFSAN, & ORA |
FSIS/USDA; CFSANp & CVM/FDA |
ORA & CFSAN/FDA; NMFS/NOAAq |
GIPSAr/USDA; ORA & CFSAN/FDA |
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Education |
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SOURCES: Appendix C; Emilie Cole, NMFS, personal communication, July 1993; EPA, personal communication to committee, May 1998; FDA, personal communication to committee, May 1998; Francer et al., 1998; GAO, 1998; Karen Hulabek, FDA, personal communication, July 1998; Edward Knipling, USDA, personal communication, July 1998; July Nelson, EPA, personal communication, July 1998; Morris Potter, CDC, personal communication, July 1998; USDA, personal communication to committee, May 1998 a CDC assists state and Federal agencies in investigating outbreaks of foodborne illness, monitors information on foodborne illness, and conducts research and education related to these illnesses. b AMS operates the shell egg surveillance program to visually detect physical damage or conditions which, in turn, might subject eggs to hazardous organisms. c ERS utilizes data collected by FoodNet to analyze the costs associated with foodborne illness and the benefits of improving food safety. d Most product monitoring is not to determine individual lot compliance, but rather to provide scientific oversight and system surveillance of the DOC inspection program. e FDA uses several sources of information to monitor imported food shipments: FDA 's Import Alert Retrieval System database contains a list of products that FDA automatically detains because the exporter or the specific food products have shown a history of violations in previous shipments. FDA 's Low-Acid Canned Food database contains information on foreign processors of low-acid and acidified canned foods registered with FDA. FDA 's Operational and Administrative System for Import Support (OASIS) contains information on products that are not automatically released into domestic commerce. f FSIS maintains a centralized computer system, Automated Import Information System (AIIS), which contains information on the exporting country, plant, and eligibility of product. g Risk assessment responsibilities include implementation of science-based tools for minimizing the occurrence of foodborne hazards such as setting standards for pesticide residues. In FY 1997, FDA, USDA, and EPA established an interagency risk assessment consortium at the Joint Institute of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the University of Maryland. h ARS provides data for all food product and contaminant areas to support risk assessment by FSIS, ERS, ORACBA, FDA, and EPA. I FDA has the authority to set tolerances in seafood and all other foods except meat and poultry for natural and synthetic contaminants, except for pesticides, which are set by EPA. j The public responsibilities of EPA's pesticide program include other activities unrelated to food safety such as: protection of workers, communities from pesticide drift, families from residues from house and garden applications and children from unintentional ingestion of pesticides |
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A.4 Federal Food Safety Responsibilities by Agency
Food Safety/Activities |
MRP/USDA |
REE/USDA |
ORACBA/USDA |
FSIS/USDA |
FDA/HHS |
CDC/HHS |
NIH/HHS |
EPA |
NMFS/NOAA/DOC |
Monitoring/Surveillance |
APHIS AMS: egg and egg products |
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FoodNet systema Conducts pesticide residue, pathogen, & BSE monitoring meat & poultry; eggs & egg products |
Lab surveillance; passive surveillance of outbreaksc; FoodNet system a |
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Seafoodd |
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Risk Assessment |
APHIS AMS: pesticidesd |
ARSe CSREES: meat & poultry ERS: meat, poultry, pesticidesd NASS: pesticidesd |
Eggs, meat, & poultry |
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CFSAN; CVM: dairy products; animal drugs & feeds |
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OPPTS: pesticide residues in food; pesticide registration |
Seafoodf |
a FoodNet-Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, jointly developed by FSIS, CDC, & FDA to collect more precise information on the incidence of foodborne disease. b NASMP-National Antimicrobial Susceptibility Monitoring Program, a collaborative effort among FDA, CDC, & USDA. c CDC assists state & Federal agencies in investigating outbreaks of foodborne illness, monitors information on foodborne illness, & conducts research & education related to these illnesses. d AMS, ERS and NASS are involved in data collection to support the pesticide risk assessment process. e ARS provides data for all food product areas to support risk assessment by FSIS, ERS, ORACBA, FDA, & EPA f Most product monitoring is not to determine individual lot compliance, but rather to provide scientific oversight & system surveillance of the DOC inspection program. |
Research |
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ARS; CSREESg |
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CFSAN: all food products & contaminants except meat & poultry CVM: animal drugs & feeds, dairy products, seafood NCTR: fruits & vegetables |
epidemiology studies: case-control |
conducts research on foodborne disease processes and intervention strategiesh |
ORD: provide science support for pesticide public health issues |
seafood |
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Inspections/ Enforcement |
GIPSA: grain, rice, & related commoditiesi APHISj AMS: Pesticide Recordkeeping Programk |
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Inspection of meat, poultry, & egg productsl for sale or distribution in interstate commerce; reviews foreign plants exporting these products |
ORA/CFSAN:. In-plant imported foods (except meat, & poultry products) m, for sale or distribution in interstate commerce; pesticide residues in/on food CVM: dairy products; egg & egg products; meat & poultry; animal drugs & feeds; pesticide residues |
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OECA: enforcement of: pesticide regulations including misuse of pesticides. |
Voluntary seafood inspection |
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g USDA formula funds provided by CSREES to the L & Grant Universities broadly support research & education activities across all food product areas. h NIH does research on food safety problems; however, it is not listed as food safety research. NIH research is targeted at human health issues regardless of the mechanism. i GIPSA has responsibility for monitoring the accuracy of aflatoxin testing services. j APHIS carries out U.S. border quarantine activities to detect & eliminate animal health problems & exotic organisms that might harm U.S. agriculture, many of which also pose potential food safety threats. k AMS manages the Pesticide Recordkeeping Program for Federally restricted-use pesticides. l FSIS is responsible for inspecting all egg products used by manufacturers, food service, & retail markets. FDA is responsible for inspecting shell eggs substitutes, imitation eggs, & similar products. m CFSAN has responsibility for inspection/enforcement of game meats. |
Education |
ARSn ERSq |
Provides technical assistance to education programsq |
Collaborative education activitiesp other services: Meat & Poultry Hotline; electronic communicationso |
CFSAN: collaborative education activitiesp food labeling, training and technical assistance documents; all food products and contaminants excepts animal drugs & feeds CVM: animal and drug feeds |
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Seafood HACCP training, scientific training/laboratory training |
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n ARS provides information resources via the National Agricultural Library to the public, industry, universities, & other government agencies. ARS technical employees participate in educational & technology transfer workshops attended by other scientists from industry, university, & government. o FSIS & ARS food safety education activities are conducted by USDA employees, while CSREES supports food safety education activities undertaken by eligible institutions in the land-grant system. p Collaborative educational activities include: Food Safety Education Partnership (which launched ''Fight Bac" campaign), a joint effort among USDA, HHS, EPA, the Dept of Education & the private sector; (2) The Food Safety Training & Education Alliance, recently established by FDA, USDA, private sector stakeholders, & consumer advocacy groups. q ERS & the ORACBA provide technical assistance to identify education needs & to analyze the effectiveness of food safety education programs. |