“Partners with a Common Purpose,” is an initiative that recognizes a common purpose embraced and supported by both government regulators and industry alike in improving public health and consumer services. During this two-hour session during The Food Safety Summit, attendees will have a unique opportunity to engage in safe harbor discussions among regulators and industry, creating great momentum to support conversations of how we can better support the reduction of foodborne illness. Following a brief introduction, a facilitated discussion will address the benefits to collaboration, what barriers currently exist, and most importantly, how we can overcome those barriers. Participants may be asked to focus their thoughts on collaboration during outbreak investigations.
The concept of “Partners with a Common Purpose” aims to drive successful collaboration and innovation by establishing equal partnership at meetings and forums to allow greater input and collaboration toward continuously improving the safety of the food supply and public health. AFDO launched this initiative in 2017 with the goal of having food protection professionals and regulatory officials engage in discussions which might involve characteristics of successful programs, barriers in implementing intervention strategies, lessons learned, sharing of best practices, and future opportunities.
Since its inception in 1896, AFDO has recognized the importance of collaboration in an innovation context. Many AFDO efforts have led to greater coordination among regulatory officials, including their vision for a fully integrated national food safety system which is now recognized in the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
This session will take place on Tuesday, May 7 from 12:30-2:30 pm. The facilitators will include Mick Miklos, National Restaurant Association; Dionne Crawford, McDonald’s Corporation; Tara Paster, Paster Training; Natalie Adan, Georgia Department of Agriculture; Randy Treadwell, Washington Department of Agriculture; Joseph Corby, Association of Food & Drug Officials; and Laurie Farmer, Food & Drug Administration.
