October 2005

Foodborne Threats to Health

The policies and practice of surveillance, prevention, outbreak investigations, and international coordination

An estimated 76 million illnesses and 5,200 deaths in the United States result from foodborne contaminants each year, and as global trade increases so does the risk of the spread of foodborne illness. Moreover, last year outgoing Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson warned that a terrorist plan to contaminate the food supply is a real and ongoing threat.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies will hold a workshop on Oct. 25 and 26 to explore the nature and extent of threats to the food supply and examine the policies and practices currently in place to lessen these risks. Topics will include the globalization of the food supply, illnesses associated with foodborne threats, regulatory responsibility, and research and policy opportunities to reduce the danger.

DETAILS: 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 25, and 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Oct. 26, in Room 100 of the National Academies' Keck Center, 500 Fifth St., N.W., Washington, D.C.

REPORTERS WHO WISH TO ATTEND SHOULD REGISTER IN ADVANCE with the National Academies' Office of News and Public Information at tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail [email protected]. Reporters who cannot attend may listen to a live audio webcast of meeting and submit questions using an e-mail form at http://national-academies.org.