Food Safety Intiative: Constituent Update

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition - Food and Drug Administration January 23, 2001

Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illness: A Primer for Physicians

A major component of the President's National Food Safety Initiative is the education of physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of foodborne illness. FDA, in collaboration with the American Medical Association (AMA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United States Department of Agriculture developed an educational tool on foodborne illness for physicians. This Primer is intended to provide physicians with current guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, reporting, and prevention of foodborne illness. It also provides physicians with information for patients on prevention of foodborne illness.

The Primer uses presentations of patient scenarios and clinical vignettes to educate physicians on foodborne illness. The Primer material also includes information on clinical considerations; tables on foodborne illness with summaries of clinical and diagnostic considerations, laboratory tests and treatment of bacterial, viral, parasitic, and noninfectious causes of foodborne illness; current suggested food safety resources and reading lists; and patient education information on prevention of foodborne illness. There are 3.0 hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits offered after submission of the CME exam to CDC/MMWR.

A free copy of the Primer can be obtained from FDA 's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). Fax requests to CFSAN's toll-free fax line, 1-877-FOODFACS (1-877-366-3322). An electronic version is available on CDC's website at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5002a1.htm or http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/cme/conted.html.

For further information about the DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS: A PRIMER FOR PHYSICIANS, please contact Eileen Parish, M.D., Medical Advisor. Dr. Parish can be reached on (202) 260-8683 or by e-mail at eparish@cfsan.fda.gov.


Federal Food Safety Strategic Plan

The Council on Food Safety's Federal Food Safety Strategic Plan is now available. The comprehensive strategic plan builds on the Clinton Administration's previous successful food safety efforts.

The plan contains background on the Plan's development, articulates a vision for food safety and public health, outlines its goals and objectives, and identifies needed actions for the next 5 years and discusses the existing legislative framework and organizational structure for the Federal food safety system.

The Plan also outlines the following recommendations of the Council:

A copy of the plan can be obtained from the FoodSafety.gov web-site located at http://www.foodsafety.gov.



Food Safety Strategic Plan



Food Safety Initiative Staff
E-mail: chammett@cfsan.fda.gov
Office Number: (202) 260-8920 · FAX (202) 260-9653
CFSAN Web site: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/

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Hypertext updated by dms 2001-MAY-23