Public meeting on food safety scheduled Oct. 20

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will host their third public meeting on food safety metrics in Portland, Ore., Oct. 20.
At the meeting, interested stakeholders (which could include members of consumer groups, industry, state and local regulators, and state and local public health agencies) will be given the opportunity to present information on the measurements they are using or recommend to assess performance in food safety. The agencies are also interested in additional input from participants on their understanding and perceptions of metrics currently being used by the federal agencies. FSIS, FDA and CDC will also present information similar to that presented at the July public meeting in Chicago on the Food Safety Working Group's charge to create meaningful metrics to measure progress in reducing illness, harm and death from contaminated food.

• Oct. 8: Closing date for advance registration and requests for special accommodations due to disability
• Oct. 20: Public meeting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Portland Downtown, 1441 NE Second Avenue, Portland, Ore., 97232