The Food and Drug Administration (FDA has a much more direct affect on food poisoning outbreaks than the CDC – the FDA’s role in food poisoning is not limited to merely collecting information.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a federal agency, organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. government’s main agency that addresses issues concerning the health of U.S. citizens. Though the FDA serves many functions in protecting the health and safety of the public, one of the agency’s essential functions concerns the nation’s food supply. The FDA is responsible for ensuring that foods are safe, nutritious, free from contamination, and properly labeled.  The FDA regulates all foods, with the exception of raw meat, poultry and some egg products; such products are regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The FDA disperses information to the public concerning healthy eating habits, and it also warns the public when an outbreak of foodborne illness has been discovered and linked to a food product regulated by the FDA. When the FDA receives notice that an outbreak has occurred, the FDA reacts to cease the production and distribution of the contaminated food source and prevent future public harm.  The FDA alerts the public about the danger of the food product that is causing illness and demands that the food product be recalled.  The FDA will then conduct an investigation, identifying the stage in the food-production process where the food product became contaminated and acting by regulation to prevent such a contamination from occurring again.