Tag Archives: MOU

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FDA and CDC Sign MOU for Enhanced Collaboration To Reduce Foodborne Illness

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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The FDA and CDC have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen food safety in retail environments. The goal of the renewed partnership is to help reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness in retail and foodservice establishments.

This MOU, which was signed on September 21, was developed to help increase the consistency and capacity of retail food protection programs across the country, promote a general culture of food safety and facilitate continued communication between the FDA and CDC to assist state, tribal, local, territorial (SLTL) and industry partners.

The three primary goals of the MOU include:

  1. Increase uniformity, consistency and capacity of STLT retail food protection programs
  2. Promote industry’s active managerial control (AMC) of foodborne illness risk factors and promote a culture of food safety
  3. Maintain a strong FDA National Retail Food Team (NRFT) and CDC National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) workforce to assist STLT partners.

The agencies are seeking to: improve STLT’s effectiveness in conducting risk-based inspections and foodborne illness investigations; promote a culture of food safety and food safety management systems within retail and foodservice establishments; and improve research in support of foodborne illness risk factor reduction.

To accomplish these objectives, the FDA and CDC are both tasked with establishing metrics to measure the success of collaborations as well as establishing direct and consistent relationships at multiple organizational levels, sharing best practices, and identifying opportunities for leveraging the resources of both agencies to more efficiently and effectively support STLT retail regulatory programs as well as both FDA and CDC retail food protection initiatives.

In its announcement of the MOU, the FDA notes that it has historically worked with CDC to help control the risk factors for foodborne illness outbreaks in retail settings. “This MOU will ensure enhanced continued collaboration on this important work,” the agency wrote.

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FDA, USDA Reach MOU to Prevent Disruptions in FDA-Regulated Food Facilities

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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This week the USDA and FDA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in an effort to prevent disruptions at FDA-regulated food facilities, including fruit and vegetable processing locations. The agencies are also trying to prepare for the peak harvesting seasons that involve freezing and canning fruits and vegetables. The MOU provides a process by which the agencies can determine the instances when USDA would exercise authorize under the Defense Production Act (DPA) related to food resource facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold foods.

“While the FDA will continue to work with state and local regulators in a collaborative manner, further action under the DPA may be taken, should it be needed, to ensure the continuity of our food supply. As needed, the FDA will work in consultation with state, local, tribal and territorial regulatory and public health partners; industry or commodity sector; and other relevant stakeholders (e.g. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to chart a path toward resuming and/or maintaining operations while keeping employees safe,” stated FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas in an agency press release. “We are working with our federal partners who have the authority and expertise over worker safety to develop information on protecting worker health. We are also working with other federal partners to assist the food and agriculture industry in addressing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), cloth face coverings, disinfectants and sanitation supplies.”