Food Safety Risk Analysis: Creating an Internet Community

	Food Safety Risk Analysts Creating Internet Community.
	RiskWorld news brief by Amy Charlene Reed, senior editor, reed@tec-com.com

	September 14, 2000 -- A group of food safety professionals specializing in risk analysis have taken the first step toward banding together to build an Internet community. “Our goal is to bring together representatives of various groups that have or are developing Internet resources for food safety risk analysts,” said Wendy Fineblum, D.V.M., Ph.D., who is the coordinator of the Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse of the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “By promoting communication, linkage, and collaboration among these various groups we hope to improve Internet resources for food safety risk analysts,” said Fineblum, who hosted the group’s first meeting titled “Food Safety Risk Analysis: Creating an Internet Community” in August at the University of Maryland. At the meeting, representatives of several organizations gave presentations on their Internet resources for food safety risk analysts, including Cindy Roberts of the National Agriculture Library, Jennifer Callahan of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis, Cristina McLaughlin of the Society for Risk Analysis, and Ed Mather of the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center’s National Alliance for Food Safety. Aamir Fazil of Health Canada also spoke on the needs of food safety risk analysts from an international perspective. Meeting participants also worked in groups to develop wish lists of resources needed on the Internet to improve the field of food safety risk analysis, as well as the challenges encountered in providing these resources. “Identifying the needs of users and the challenges of providers is an early step in coordinating and improving our various efforts in this area,” Fineblum said. Anyone who is interested in contributing to the effort or in attending future meetings can contact Fineblum by e-mail at wf32@umail.umd.edu. Participants at the August meeting included the following: Jennifer Callahan Office of Risk Assessment and Cost Benefit Analysis, U.S. Department of Agriculture Yuhuan Chen National Food Processors Association Sherri Dennis Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration Ken Durham Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration Aamir Fazil Health Canada/ Decisionalysis Sue Ferenc International Life Sciences Institute Wendy Fineblum Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse, Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Rich Forshee Georgetown University Jim Friday Community Nutrition Research Group, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Will Hueston Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Michael Kasnia Food Safety International David Lineback Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Charles Linville American University Wes Long Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration Ed Mather National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, Michigan State University Cristina McLaughlin Society for Risk Analysis Cindy Roberts National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Tanya Roberts Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Mark Tamplin Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Mark Walderhaug Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration Nick Weber Center for Veterinary Medicine, Food and Drug Administration Charlie Yoe College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse, Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Editor's note: For more information on food risk topics, see Riskworld's Food & Nutrition Web Sites department.
	Posted September 14, 2000. Go to: RiskWorld Home Page Tec-Com Inc. Copyright © 2000 by Tec-Com Inc.

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