FEATURE
“ FDA requested ongoing sampling of these imported enoki mushrooms for Listeria, which never would have occurred to us because no one in Maryland was sick,” Urban said.“ We isolated two strains from products on Maryland stores shelves that were part of this outbreak. The producers were then put on import alerts so they could not just freely import products into the US— they had to prove their products were safe. This is prevention. This is exactly the kind of work we’ re trying to do.”
Critical Partnerships
All food products, whether produced domestically or imported, must meet US food safety requirements. According to Donald A. Prater, DVM, principal deputy director of the Human Foods Program at the FDA, the agency regulates about 80 % of the food supply, with the remainder— including meat, poultry and processed egg products— regulated by the US Department of Agriculture.
As part of its Food Traceability Rule, FDA uses a risk-ranking tool to determine which foods must meet additional tracing requirements. Across the nearly 400 ports of entry where food enters the US, food products are screened using a tool called Predictive Risk-based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting( PREDICT). This risk-based analytics tool electronically reviews prior notice entries, flagging risky products and entries with incomplete or inaccurate data. Using PREDICT, FDA can make quick admissibility decisions when a food is offered for import— including whether to physically examine the product or take a product sample.
Collecting and testing samples is a resource-intensive process that requires locating the product in a warehouse, inspecting the labeling, using a specific methodology to collect and process a sample, and sending it to a laboratory. FDA relies on its own laboratories and on state public health laboratories for sampling and testing. Broadly, this work includes routine surveillance testing, targeted assignments based on specific findings or historical trends, and testing for chemical hazards or pathogens that occur in new geographic locations or due to outbreaks.
Eight FDA laboratories primarily conduct regulatory surveillance of imported foods. Seven of those laboratories have microbiology capabilities, and all eight can perform various chemical analyses. Four additional laboratories are engaged in applied science activities, including method development, validation, and platform and matrix extensions, according to Prater. The Food Emergency Response Network( FERN), a 170-member network of federal, state, local, Tribal and territorial laboratories, also conducts regulatory testing when needed.
“ We rely on our collective efforts with other public health laboratories,” Prater said.“ We have great cooperation and we’ re always looking to share what we’ ve learned and how we can improve and work more efficiently and effectively to protect consumers. The value of working together as a food system is immeasurable in terms of protecting public health.”
Angela Poates, lead specialist for global health next generation sequencing and bioinformatics for APHL, said public health laboratories are the“ boots on the ground” in defending the US food supply. As APHL’ s lead for PulseNet International, a network focused on surveillance and detection of foodborne outbreaks caused by bacterial enteric pathogens, Poates and her colleagues work to help public health laboratories in eight global regions increase their foodborne pathogen, enteric and antimicrobial pathogen surveillance capacities.
“ We’ re helping to build food safety globally, which protects the US because we have many ingredients and food items coming into our country,” she said.“ A coordinated outbreak response among public health laboratories, regulatory bodies, and industry suppliers is important for a fast outbreak response. Everybody has a part to play.”
Evolutions in Testing
Foodborne disease testing has evolved rapidly during the past two decades. Public health laboratories have moved from primarily using methods such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to whole genome sequencing( WGS). Standardizing the use of WGS has improved the precision of pathogen identification, as well as the speed and efficiency with which public health and regulatory agencies can respond to foodborne outbreaks.
With FDA funding, Urban’ s laboratory modernized its methods.“ We brought
14 LAB MATTERS Spring 2026 PublicHealthLabs @ APHL. org
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