Established under the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Integrated Food Safety Centers of Excellence (CoEs) serve as specialized training and resource hubs for state and local health departments. Their mission: to enhance the detection, investigation, and prevention of foodborne illnesses through workforce development and technical assistance. Six CoEs, based in Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee, Washington, and Florida (2012–2019), operate via partnerships between state health departments and academic institutions, such as the University of Washington and Cornell University.
Regional Expertise and Academic Collaboration
Each CoE supports a designated geographic region, providing tailored resources and acting as a first point of contact for public health professionals. For example, the Washington CoE covers Alaska, California, and Hawaii, while the Tennessee CoE supports Southern states and territories like Puerto Rico. This regional framework ensures localized assistance while fostering a national network for knowledge sharing. Academic partnerships enable CoEs to rapidly translate research into practical tools, such as standardized outbreak investigation templates and training curricula.
Workforce Development and Resources
CoEs develop evidence-based trainings to address evolving challenges like whole-genome sequencing and multidisciplinary outbreak response. They offer over 70 freely accessible products, including:
- Interactive courses: The Applied Outbreak Investigation training (adapted by Washington from Colorado’s model) teaches epidemiological methods through real-world scenarios.
- Specialized webinars: Topics range from environmental assessments during outbreaks to bioinformatics fundamentals.
- Toolkits and repositories: Colorado’s Food Source Information Wiki clarifies food supply chains, and Oregon’s International Outbreak Museum documents historical foodborne outbreaks for education. All resources are centralized at FoodSafetyCoE.org.
Outbreak Response Support
Beyond training, CoEs provide direct technical aid during outbreaks. They field more than 50 urgent assistance requests yearly, aiding traceback investigations, data analysis, and response coordination. For instance, Minnesota’s case studies detail outbreaks involving commercially distributed foods, highlighting real-time decision-making hurdles. One example is a case study of a 2015 Salmonella outbreak linked to coleslaw at a local restaurant. These materials help departments refine their own response protocols.
Through regionally targeted training, resource development, and on-call expertise, the CoEs strengthen the U.S. food safety infrastructure, one health department at a time.
