January 14, 2005

CFSAN Announces its New Office of Food Safety,
Defense, and Outreach

CFSAN has formed a new Office of Food Safety, Defense, and Outreach (OFSDO), which consolidates the Center's outreach and education on food safety and defense with its counter terrorism and chief medical officer responsibilities.

OFSDO will serve as the overall Center lead responsible for coordinating, developing, and delivering high-quality outreach and education products to our stakeholders (e.g., consumers, industry, health professionals, and other regulatory authorities). The Office vision is "to increase CFSAN's recognition by the outside world as a resource for information on food safety, food defense, nutrition, and cosmetics." David Acheson, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, former Director of the Food Safety and Security Staff (FSSS), is Director of OFSDO.

Center-wide outreach and education functions and associated personnel have been merged into OFSDO, with delegated authority on Center-based communication. The functions include consumer education and industry outreach formerly within the Office of Constituent Operations (OCO), trade press activities formerly within the Executive Operations Staff (EOS), labeling and nutrition outreach formerly within the Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements (ONPLDS), and outreach and education currently within FSSS.

The Center has many significant issues that require communication to our stakeholder community. The consolidated OFSDO will serve as a conduit between the Program Offices, which are the source of scientific expertise, and our stakeholders for Center-based outreach and education. OFSDO will work closely with the Program Offices to identify their outreach and education needs, develop materials, and coordinate public events (e.g., public meetings and roll-outs), as necessary. These changes are designed to improve the quality, quantity, and timeliness of CFSAN outreach and education. In addition, these changes are intended to provide a more visible interface to our stakeholders and to ensure Center-wide consistency in procedures and consumer messages.