The International Food Safety Network (iFSN) at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

imparts the opportunity of improving the overall safety of the

food supply Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World Fo ...

by connecting all those in the

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

and

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

. iFSN offers a resource of evidence-based information through its website,

listserve A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is re ...

s, research projects, on-farm food safety programs, publications, educational initiatives, graduate courses and policy analysis. iFSN used to operate under the direction of Doug Powell.

History

International Food Safety Network began as a communications experiment, collecting and rapidly redistributing information about

food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from ...

using the then just-burgeoning Internet. Created in January 1993, as a combination of Powell's interests in science, media and the public following an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 associated with

Jack in the Box Jack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant chain founded February 21, 1951, by Robert O. Peterson (1916–1994) in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. The chain has over 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coast ...

restaurants, in which over 600 were sickened and four died from undercooked hamburgers. International Food Safety Network's emphasis is on the integration of public perceptions of food safety risks into traditional food safety risk analysis, and engaging the public on the nature of food-related risks and benefits. Powell and the International Food Safety Network are a primary source for food safety information during outbreaks and are often quoted in mainstream media reports.http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/16925851.htm The International Food Safety Network was replaced with the bites mailing list and website according to a notice on the former's home page.

References

External links

International Food Safety Network

thehealthline.ca

Food Safety News, Iowa State University
{{Consumer Food Safety Food safety organizations Kansas State University 1993 establishments in Kansas