The Need for Evidence-Based Outreach in the Current Food Safety Regulatory Landscape

As the most comprehensive legislation related to safety of U.S. agricultural production and food manufacturing in more than 70 years, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) aims to ensure safety of domestic and imported foods by shifting the focus of producers, processors, and federal regulatory agencies from response to prevention. Considering the diversity of industries in need of FSMA outreach and technical assistance, land-grant institutions and Extension are presented with a challenge and historic opportunity. Systematic and evidence-based needs assessment would enable Extension educators to efficiently triage resources to assist the most vulnerable Extension stakeholders.