Free Resources Available:

Dear Public Health Partners and FDA Interested Parties:

September is Food Safety Month, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Regulatory Affairs would like to share some information and resources that you can amplify with audiences. Foodborne illness still causes 3,000 deaths, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 48 million illnesses per year in the U.S. Simple steps and precautions taken at home can lessen the risk. We hope you can assist us in decreasing these illnesses and deaths.

Toolkit/Educator Resources:
• Everyday Food Safety Resources for Health Educators: https://www.fda.gov/food/health-educators/everyday-food-safety-resources-health-educators
• Consumer Food Safety Educator Evaluation Toolbox and Guide: https://www.fda.gov/food/health-educators/consumer-food-safety-educator-evaluation-toolbox-and-guide
• Food Safety Education Resource Library: https://www.fda.gov/food/resources-you-food/cfsan-education-resource-library
• The Consumer Food Safety Educator Evaluation Toolbox and Guide: http://evaluationguide.fightbac.org/
• FDA Food Safety Education Month: https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/food-safety-education-month
• Partnership for Food Safety Education: https://www.fightbac.org/nfsem/

These are additional topic areas that are specific to audiences:
• Food Safety for Pregnant Women, Their Unborn Babies, and Children Under Five: https://www.fda.gov/media/83740/download
• Everyday Food Safety for Young Adults: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/everyday-food-safety-young-adults
• People at Risk of Foodborne Illness: https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/people-risk-foodborne-illness
• How to Cut Food Waste and Maintain Food Safety: https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/how-cut-food-waste-and-maintain-food-safety
• Food Safety for Older Adults and People with Cancer, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Organ Transplants, and Autoimmune Diseases: https://www.fda.gov/media/83744/download

Additional Food Safety Information:
• Advice about Eating Fish: https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/advice-about-eating-fish
• What You Need to Know about Foodborne Illnesses: https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/what-you-need-know-about-foodborne-illnesses
• New Era of Smarter Food Safety: https://www.fda.gov/food/new-era-smarter-food-safety
• Safe Food Handling: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/safe-food-handling
• Food Safety At Home: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/free-publications-women/food-safety-home
• Food Safety In Your Kitchen: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-safety-your-kitchen
• Are you Storing Food Safely?: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/are-you-storing-food-safely
• Food and Water Safety During Power Outages and Floods: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods

Thank you for helping us build a food safety culture to keep Americans safe from foodborne illnesses.

SAFE PRODUCE – September 27, 2022

Today the FDA released its Activities to Enhance the Safety of Imported Producewhich provides an overview of the work underway to advance the safety of produce imported into the United States. This overview follows the 2019 release of the Strategy for the Safety of Imported Food (Import Strategy) which described the agency’s comprehensive approach to enhancing the safety of food imported into the United States.

The success of FDA’s imported food safety efforts relies in large part on the safety of produce, since fresh fruit and vegetables represent a significant volume of imported food. Today, the U.S. imports roughly 32% of our fresh vegetables and 55% of our fresh fruit.   This latest document, Activities to Enhance the Safety of Imported Produce, describes how the work to help ensure the safety of these commodities is a critical component of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety in building on the preventive standards established by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

The FDA has long recognized the need to ensure the safety of both imported and domestic produce to meet the agency’s public health mission.   This overview is intended to help stakeholders better understand the many tools that are employed to ensure parity of oversight between domestic and foreign-grown produce, and ultimately to ensure safe produce is reaching U.S. consumers.

For more information

Thank you,

Steven Wiener
Health Communications Specialist | Public Affairs Branch
Office of Regulatory Affairs
Office of Communications and Project Management
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
1201 Harbor Bay Pkwy, Alameda, CA 94502
510-337-6888
steven.wiener@fda.hhs.gov