About

ASTHO's food safety program assists state efforts to prevent and respond to outbreaks of foodborne disease and collaborates with national partners and federal agencies to improve the nation's food safety system.

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Virtual Food Safety Inspections During the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 has changed the way food establishments do business. To ensure that food establishments were abiding by food safety regulations and to protect the health of food safety professionals who inspect these facilities, multiple state health agencies implemented virtual inspection protocols. This brief overviews virtual inspection protocols from Hawaii, Virginia, and South Carolina to provide other state and territorial health agencies with examples of how these inspections are performed.

Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response: Assessing the Legal and Institutional Framework for Interagency Information Sharing
This report discusses the legal and institutional framework impacting information sharing during a foodborne disease outbreak. Through legal research, ASTHO created an appendix of state laws and regulations relating to state health agency authority to protect non-public information from public disclosure. This information is available via an interactive map in LawAtlas. In addition, ASTHO surveyed state health agencies to better understand information sharing practices with federal and state food regulatory agencies. The report highlights major findings from our research and provides five recommendations to enhance information sharing.

Food Safety Alerts

CDC Estimates of Foodborne Illness in the United States (external site)
This website contains the latest estimates on the number of foodborne illnesses caused by known pathogens and those without a known cause.

FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts (external site)
This website includes the most significant product actions of the last 60 days, based on the extent of distribution and the degree of health risk.

USDA-FSIS Recalls and Alerts (external site)
This website contains summary data on active recall cases.

ASTHO Publications and Resources

ASTHO Raw Milk Issue Brief 2012 (pdf)
This issue brief describes the overall issue with raw milk and contains examples of recent foodborne outbreaks, regulatory options, and the potential economic impact of associated illnesses.

Anatomy of a Foodborne Illness Outbreak: A Primer

ASTHO Transition Document - State Health Agencies & Food Safety: Responsibilities, Challenges and Opportunities 

Defining Food Safety - A Glossary of Terms 

Experiences and Challenges with Outbreak Response and Investigation: A State Health Agency Perspective 

Putting the Pieces Together - An Analysis of State Response to Foodborne Illness

External Publications and Resources

CIFOR Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response
The CIFOR Guidelines are intended to serve as a comprehensive source of information on foodborne disease investigation and control for local,  state, and federal health agencies.