The National Academies issued a report on initial surveillance of in-commerce businesses by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). FSIS requested feedback on its proposed process for priority-setting for followup surveillance in cases in which initial surveillance did not lead to an investigation or enforcement action.

Review of the Methodology Proposed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service for Followup Surveillance of In-Commerce Businesses is the result of that request. The report reviews and comments on the assumptions, risk factors, and methodology FSIS proposes to use to prioritize followup surveillance at in-commerce business with prior surveillance history.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE FOR THE REVIEW OF THE METHODOLOGY PROPOSED BY THE FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE (FSIS) FOR FOLLOWUP SURVEILLANCE OF IN-COMMERCE BUSINESSES
• BOARD ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
• Acknowledgments
• [Letter to Mr. Matthew Gonzales]
• SUMMARY
• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND
  • Summary of the Report of the In-Commerce I Committee
  • Food Safety and Inspection Service Response to the Report of the In-Commerce I Committee
• OVERVIEW OF FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE METHODOLOGY FOR IN-COMMERCE SURVEILLANCE (BOTH INITIAL AND FOLLOWUP)
• OVERVIEW OF THE IN-COMMERCE COMPUTER SYSTEM
• FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR PRIORITY-SETTING FOR FOLLOWUP SURVEILLANCE OF IN-COMMERCE BUSINESSES
• COMMITTEE RESPONSE TO METHODOLOGY PROPOSED BY THE FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE FOR FOLLOWUP SURVEILLANCE
  • Findings
  • Recommendations
• APPENDIX A Statement of Task
• APPENDIX B Meeting Agenda
• APPENDIX C Presentations by Donald Anderson and Matthew Gonzales of FSIS
• APPENDIX D An Example of a Stepwise Decision Process
• APPENDIX E Draft of a Modified Stepwise Decision Process Suggested by FSIS
• APPENDIX F
• APPENDIX G
• APPENDIX H Committee Biographies

This study was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service under Contract No. AG-3A94-D-08-0262. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.