FoodNet
(Foodborne Illness)

The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) is the foodborne disease component of the CDC's Emerging Infections Program (EIP). FoodNet, established in 1995, is a collaborative project among CDC, seven EIP sites including Oregon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The project consists of active surveillance for foodborne diseases and related epidemiologic studies designed to help public health officials better understand the epidemiology of foodborne diseases in the United States. The FoodNet program tracks foodborne illness using surveys of physicians and laboratories, case-control studies, and active case finding of the following pathogens:

Disease Reporting: Health-care providers are required to report any known or suspected common-source outbreaks and any intoxications caused by marine organisms, including paralytic shellfish poisoning, demoic acid intoxication, ciguatera, and scombroid.

Cases may be subject to restriction on school and day-care attendance, food handling, and patient care.

Goals

• Describe the epidemiology of new and emerging bacterial, parasitic, and viral foodborne pathogens.
• Estimate the frequency and severity of foodborne diseases that occur in Oregon per year.
• Determine how much foodborne illness results from eating specific foods, such as meat, poultry, and eggs.

Components

• Foodborne outbreak reporting and investigation
• Active laboratory-based surveillance
• Survey of clinical laboratories in Oregon
• Survey of Oregon physicians
• Survey of the population of Oregon
• Case control studies
• Review the components of the FoodNet Program at the CDC FoodNet Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/foodnet

Oregon Rules (OARS)

• Communicable Disease Control in Food Service Facilities (Division 19)
• Food Health and Safety at Outdoor Mass Gatherings (Division 39)
• Food Sanitation Rules (Division 150)
• Mobile Food Units (Division 162)

Links

• Oregon Dept. of Agriculture, Food Safety Division
• CDC's FoodNet: the foodborne disease component of CDC's Emerging Infections Program
• CDC's PulseNet: the national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance
• AMA/CDC/FDA/USDA's Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illness: A Primer for Physicians: individual sections are available for download or mail order from this link, or download the entire PDF file (MMWR, January 26, 2001, Vol. 50, No. RR-2, 88 pp.)
• Fight BAC!: Partnership for Food Safety Education
• The Bad Bug Book: USDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition foodborne pathogenic microorganisms and natural toxins handbook
• Food Safety Inspection Service: Cooking for Groups - A Volunteer's Guide to Food Safety
• FDA/USDA: To Your Health—Food Safety for Seniors
• Foodborne Illness Information from the USDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
• USDA/FDA Foodborne Illness Education Information Center
• US Government Food Safety Information Gateway
• Food Safety Inspection Service: what to do if you have a problem with a food product
• World Health Organization: Food Safety Unit
• E. coli O157 and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE): applies to isolates of E.coli O157 to gain epidemiologic insight