An agreement has been reached for cooperation between the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention to reduce foodborne infection in retail and food service operations. The objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) comprised:

• To promote active prevention of foodborne disease by the industry.
• Increase uniformity and consistency of review and enforcement of food protection
• To strengthen both FDA and CDC capabilities to reduce foodborne disease.

The MOU calls for collaboration, sharing best practices, identifying opportunities to apply resources of both Agencies and to enhance inter-Agency communication and efficiency.

The fact that a MOA is necessary to define areas of cooperation between the FDA and the CDC implies that deficiencies exist with current prevention of foodborne infection. The MOA does not embrace the FSIS component of the USDA with jurisdiction over red meat and poultry The need for the memorandum strengthens the case for an independent food safety agency as promoted by EGG-NEWS and reflecting recommendations by a series of committees tasked with rationalizing the food safety system in the U.S.