Risk Food and Nutrition Web Sites

This directory of web sites covering food and nutrition was compiled by RiskWorld senior editor Amy Charlene Reed, e-mail reed@tec-com.com.

Animal Plant and Food Risk Analysis Network (APFRAN)

APFRAN is an integral part of the Animal Health, Plant Protection and Food safety programs of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). By serving as a liaison between science and management, and by providing technical information and advice, APFRAN facilitates decision-making within national programs, thus contributing to the overall success of Canada's agricultural, food and forest industries. (Posted September 2000.)

http://www.cfia-acia.agr.ca/english/ppc/science/ahra/apfran_e.shtml

Food Safety Risk Analysts Creating Internet Community

A group of food safety professionals specializing in risk analysis have taken the first step toward banding together to build an Internet community. See RiskWorld's news brief for details. (Posted September 2000.)

Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse

Professionals involved with any of the many aspects of risk analysis as it pertains to food safety will find tools and links to numerous sources of information at this web site. Goals for the clearinghouse include consolidating risk analysis research data and methodology from public and proprietary sources, assisting coordination of research activities, identifying gaps in needed research, and assisting the development of food safety risk assessment models. Initially the development of the clearinghouse will focus on microbial risk assessment. Scientific collaborators from the University of Maryland's Veterinary Medicine Department and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition have created and operate the clearinghouse, which is the responsibility of the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, a collaboration between the University of Maryland and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Posted July 2000.)

http://www.foodriskclearinghouse.umd.edu/

Food/ Water Safety Risk Specialty Group, SRA

The Food/ Water Safety Risk Specialty Group of the Society for Risk Analysis focuses on the particular risk analysis issues and challenges posed by hazards in the food and water consumed and used by humans and animals. Of primary concern are biological, chemical, and physical hazards that are naturally occurring or result from substances intentionally or unintentionally added during production or processing (such as pesticides, food additives and drinking water disinfectants). The group hosts workshops and sessions at the Society for Risk Analysis� annual meetings and has a discussion forum setup on its web site.

http://members.tripod.com/Cristina704/Foodrisk/

Books on Food Safety, Nutrition, and Related Topics

RiskWorld's online bookstore provides summary descriptions of risk-related food and nutrition topics.

http://www.riskworld.com/BOOKS/topics/riskfood.htm

Current Hot Topics in Food Safety & Related Issues

The Institute of Food Science & Technology provides reports and position statements on current hot topics involving food safety, nutrition, and new food items (such as Olestra). (Posted August 2000.)

http://www.ifst.org/hottop.htm

FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition

The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration regulates $240 billion worth of domestic food, $15 billion worth of imported foods, and $15 billion worth of cosmetics sold across state lines. Examples of the center�s activities include approving olestra as the first synthetic fat-based fat substitute and revamping food labels to make it easier for consumers to get nutrition information about the foods they eat. The center is divided into seven offices dealing with cosmetics and colors, food labeling, plant and dairy foods and beverages, pre-market approval, seafood, special nutritional items (such as dietary supplements and infant formula), and special research skills and support. (Posted August 2000.)

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/

The Fish List

This ocean-friendly guide for choosing fish that is better for the environment and for human consumption includes a downloadable Fish List Health Chart with health advisories that were calculated using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's risk assessment methodology for establishing fish consumption limits. (Posted August 2004.)

http://www.thefishlist.org/

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The FAO was founded in October 1945 with a mandate to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to better the condition of rural populations. (Posted September 2000.)

http://www.fao.org/

Food and Nutrition Information Center, USDA

Reports and other resources regarding food and nutrition issues are available at the web site of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Information Center. (Posted August 2000.)

http://warp.nal.usda.gov/fnic/index.html

Maintained by the Institute of Food Science & Technology, this comprehensive list of e-mail discussion groups and newsgroups covers a wide number of topics, from food law to bovine spongiform encephalopathy to general food safety. (Posted August 2000.)

http://www.ifst.org/mailnews.htm

Food Safety and Nutrition Databases

RiskWorld provides a listing food safety and nutrition databases. (Posted July 2001.)

http://www.riskworld.com/websites/webfiles/ws6aa003.htm#FoodSafetyandNutrition

Gateway to Government Food Safety Information

This web site serves as a food safety clearinghouse for government agencies such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Food Safety & Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. State resources also are included.

http://www.foodsafety.gov/

Institute of Food Science & Technology

A rich array of data and helpful information is available at the web site of the Institute of Food Science & Technology, an international professional organization for food scientists and technologists that is based in London, England. On-line documents include the brief report titled "Development of a New Approach to the Risk Assessment of Inherent Natural Toxicants -- the Whole Food Approach." (Updated August 2000.)

http://www.ifst.org/

International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation

Originally created by the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, this organization now has 47 member nations, including the United States. The mandate of the group is to evaluate global developments in the field of food irradiation, to provide a focal point of advice on the application of food irradiation to member states and the three founding organizations; and to furnish information to the a joint committee of the Wholesomeness of Irradiated Food and the Codex Alimentarius Commission. (Posted August 2000.)

http://www.iaea.org/icgfi/

International Food Information Council

A large number of reports on food safety and related topics are available online at the web site of the International Food Information Council, which is supported by food, beverage and agricultural industries. One of the council's main purposes is "to bridge the gap between science and communications by collecting and disseminating scientific information on food safety, nutrition and health and by working with an extensive roster of scientific experts to help translate research into understandable and useful information for opinion leaders and ultimately, consumers." (Posted November 1995.)

http://ificinfo.health.org/

National Food Safety & Toxicology Center
Michigan State University

The National Food Safety & Toxicology Center is committed to reducing food-related disease globally through research, education, and outreach, which it achieves by fostering collaborations across relevant disciplines within and beyond the university and through building partnerships with public health officials, food producers, consumers, and other key stakeholders. The center's wide research scope includes disciplines such as microbiology, toxicology, epidemiology, pre-harvest food safety, risk assessment, communication, and social science. Its educational offerings include an Online Professional Master of Science in Food Safety (ProMS) Program and a Master of Science Specialization in Food Safety (PDF version). The center also conducts the RUsick2 Food Poisoning Forum. (Posted June 2005.)

http://www.foodsafe.msu.edu/

Olestra -- Overview by the Institute of Food Science & Technology

This overview of the fat substitute olestra is by the Institute of Food Science & Technology in London, England. Topics covered include olestra's chemistry, its physiological effects, its legislative history, and criticisms about its use. (Posted November 1996.)

http://www.easynet.co.uk/ifst/hottop13.htm

RUsick2 Food Poisoning Forum (or www.ReportFoodPoisoning.com)

The first of its kind nationwide, the RUsick2 Food Poisoning Forum allows consumers to report food poisoning cases and to share and compare information with other consumers to see if they might be part of a food-borne illness cluster. Conducted by Michigan State University's National Food Safety & Toxicology Center researchers and epidemiologists aiming to increase the reporting of food-borne disease, the forum's website helps visitors to recall their food exposures, to organize information regarding their food-borne illness, and to contact their local health departments so that others might be prevented from eating the same food items and becoming sick. Local health departments can benefit by using for free the forum's analysis tools that screen data by county for common food sources, food items, or other risk factors and spreadsheet or statistical packages that output the data (see Information for Local Health Departments). (Posted June 2005.)

http://rusick2.msu.edu/ or http://www.ReportFoodPoisoning.com/

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Genetically Engineered Foods

Greenpeace USA, a part of the international organization dedicated to protecting the health of planet Earth, offers on-line media kits providing background information on various issues, including Greenpeace's concern that the FDA's safety standards regarding genetically engineered foods are insufficient and may be putting human health at risk. This media kit links to Greenpeace's report titled FDA Approved: Genetically Engineered Soy and Corn in Baby Food and Nutritional Supplements and to additional related information. (Posted August 2000.)

http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/media/mediakits/fdage.htm

Virginia - Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

Scientific collaborators from the University of Maryland's Veterinary Medicine Department and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition created and are operating the Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse (see entry above), which is the responsibility of the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, a collaboration between the University of Maryland and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Posted August 2000.)

http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/vetmed/

WHO Food Safety Publications Online

The World Health Organization has published the full text of its food safety reports and other documents online. (Posted August 2000; updated August 2004.)

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/en/

WHO Food Safety Program

The web site of the World Health Organization's Food Safety Program offers detailed information on chemical contaminants in food, microbiological risk assessment, foods derived from modern biotechnology, food safety and infant feeding, food legislation and control, global task force on cholera control, fish food safety, health education in food safety, food safety recommendations for prevention of food-borne infections, street-vended food, assessment of food technologies, epidemiological surveillance of food-borne diseases, and the international Codex Alimentarius (food code) system. (Posted August 2000.)

http://www.who.int/fsf/

WIC Nutrition Risk Criteria: A Scientific Assessment

This 1996 report is available on line from the National Academy Press. (Posted December 1996.)

http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/records/0309053854.html