On March 23, 2022, FDA announced that it would hold a webinar on the Agency’s Foodborne Outbreak Improvement Plan (“Improvement Plan”). As previously reported, the Improvement Plan was released in December 2021 and is designed to help FDA and its partners enhance the speed, effectiveness, and communication of foodborne outbreak investigations. The Improvement Plan focuses on improving four specific priority areas, which FDA believes will have the most impact on outbreaks associated with human food:  tech-enabled product traceback, root-cause investigations, stronger analysis and dissemination of outbreak data, and operational improvements.

Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas and other FDA experts will be featured during the webinar and will be available to answer questions regarding the Improvement Plan. Stakeholders are invited to participate in the webinar and provide their insights as well.

The webinar will take place on April 13, 2022 at 2 p.m. EST. Registration is required to attend the webinar. Questions or comments may be submitted in advance of the meeting on the registration form or may be submitted during the webinar via email to SmarterFoodSafety@fda.hhs.gov.  The webinar will also be recorded and posted to FDA’s website.