LaTonia Clay Richardson1, Michael C Bazaco2, Cary Chen Parker2, Daniel Dewey-Mattia1, Neal Golden3, Karen Jones4, Karl Klontz2, Curtis Travis3, Joanna Zablotsky Kufel3, Dana Cole5. 1. 1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Atlanta, Georgia . 2. 2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , College Park, Maryland. 3. 3 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) , Washington, District of Columbia. 4. 4 Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina , Columbia, South Carolina. 5. 5 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service , Fort Collins, Colorado.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Foodborne disease data collected during outbreak investigations are used to estimate the percentage of foodborne illnesses attributable to specific food categories. Current food categories do not reflect whether or how the food has been processed and exclude many multiple-ingredient foods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Representatives from three federal agencies worked collaboratively in the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) to develop a hierarchical scheme for categorizing foods implicated in outbreaks, which accounts for the type of processing and provides more specific food categories for regulatory purposes. IFSAC also developed standard assumptions for assigning foods to specific food categories, including some multiple-ingredient foods. The number and percentage of outbreaks assignable to each level of the hierarchy were summarized. RESULTS: The IFSAC scheme is a five-level hierarchy for categorizing implicated foods with increasingly specific subcategories at each level, resulting in a total of 234 food categories. Subcategories allow distinguishing features of implicated foods to be reported, such as pasteurized versus unpasteurized fluid milk, shell eggs versus liquid egg products, ready-to-eat versus raw meats, and five different varieties of fruit categories. Twenty-four aggregate food categories contained a sufficient number of outbreaks for source attribution analyses. Among 9791 outbreaks reported from 1998 to 2014 with an identified food vehicle, 4607 (47%) were assignable to food categories using this scheme. Among these, 4218 (92%) were assigned to one of the 24 aggregate food categories, and 840 (18%) were assigned to the most specific category possible. CONCLUSIONS: Updates to the food categorization scheme and new methods for assigning implicated foods to specific food categories can help increase the number of outbreaks attributed to a single food category. The increased specificity of food categories in this scheme may help improve source attribution analyses, eventually leading to improved foodborne illness source attribution estimates and enhanced food safety and regulatory efforts.
BACKGROUND:Foodborne disease data collected during outbreak investigations are used to estimate the percentage of foodborne illnesses attributable to specific food categories. Current food categories do not reflect whether or how the food has been processed and exclude many multiple-ingredient foods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Representatives from three federal agencies worked collaboratively in the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) to develop a hierarchical scheme for categorizing foods implicated in outbreaks, which accounts for the type of processing and provides more specific food categories for regulatory purposes. IFSAC also developed standard assumptions for assigning foods to specific food categories, including some multiple-ingredient foods. The number and percentage of outbreaks assignable to each level of the hierarchy were summarized. RESULTS: The IFSAC scheme is a five-level hierarchy for categorizing implicated foods with increasingly specific subcategories at each level, resulting in a total of 234 food categories. Subcategories allow distinguishing features of implicated foods to be reported, such as pasteurized versus unpasteurized fluid milk, shell eggs versus liquid egg products, ready-to-eat versus raw meats, and five different varieties of fruit categories. Twenty-four aggregate food categories contained a sufficient number of outbreaks for source attribution analyses. Among 9791 outbreaks reported from 1998 to 2014 with an identified food vehicle, 4607 (47%) were assignable to food categories using this scheme. Among these, 4218 (92%) were assigned to one of the 24 aggregate food categories, and 840 (18%) were assigned to the most specific category possible. CONCLUSIONS: Updates to the food categorization scheme and new methods for assigning implicated foods to specific food categories can help increase the number of outbreaks attributed to a single food category. The increased specificity of food categories in this scheme may help improve source attribution analyses, eventually leading to improved foodborne illness source attribution estimates and enhanced food safety and regulatory efforts.
Authors: Gizem Levent; Ashlynn Schlochtermeier; Samuel E Ives; Keri N Norman; Sara D Lawhon; Guy H Loneragan; Robin C Anderson; Javier Vinasco; H Morgan Scott Journal: Appl Environ Microbiol Date: 2019-11-14 Impact factor: 4.792
Authors: Katherine E Marshall; April Hexemer; Sharon L Seelman; Marianne K Fatica; Tyann Blessington; Maha Hajmeer; Hannah Kisselburgh; Robin Atkinson; Kristin Hill; Davendra Sharma; Michael Needham; Vi Peralta; Jeffrey Higa; Karen Blickenstaff; Ian T Williams; Michael A Jhung; Matthew Wise; Laura Gieraltowski Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2020-10 Impact factor: 6.883
Authors: Michael B Batz; LaTonia C Richardson; Michael C Bazaco; Cary Chen Parker; Stuart J Chirtel; Dana Cole; Neal J Golden; Patricia M Griffin; Weidong Gu; Susan K Schmitt; Beverly J Wolpert; Joanna S Zablotsky Kufel; R Michael Hoekstra Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2021-01 Impact factor: 6.883
Authors: J B Pettengill; H Tate; K Gensheimer; C H Hsu; J Ihrie; A O Markon; P F McDERMOTT; S Zhao; E Strain; M C Bazaco Journal: J Food Prot Date: 2020-01-21 Impact factor: 2.745