FDA Human Foods Program
HFP Advances Collaborative Vision for Enhancing Food Safety
View on the FDA Website
May 13, 2026
The FDA’s Human Foods Program (HFP) 2026 Priority Deliverables highlighted FDA’s commitment to driving a prevention-based approach to reducing foodborne illness from microbiological contaminants. Today, HFP advances its vision of increased engagement and collaboration with stakeholders to enhance food safety through the release of two new web resources highlighting how industry can work with FDA to develop best practices and use root cause analysis to strengthen understanding of food safety issues and prevent recurrence.
Best practices are typically established by industry through experience and lessons learned. They are not FDA guidance documents. However, FDA is working with industry to provide technical assistance, share relevant scientific information and data, and help ensure that their best practice guidelines comply with applicable FDA regulations. The first of FDA’s new webpages highlights collaborations on best practices and other documents. FDA appreciates and recognizes industry initiatives to develop practices, tailored to their specific needs, that advance food safety.
Root Cause Analyses (RCAs) are a cornerstone of a prevention-based approach to food safety. An RCA is a tool to methodically identify the cause(s) of a food safety incident. The lessons learned from an RCA can then be used to develop strategies to prevent recurrence. While RCAs are a best practice in the food industry, FDA and other regulatory bodies also use RCA procedures as part of their oversight responsibilities. Whether industry or a regulator is using an RCA, there are widely recognized best practices that are important to conducting a successful RCA. The second new webpage discusses these best practices and some of FDA’s ongoing work to support the use of RCAs to enhance food safety and prevent recurrence of identified issues.
In the spirit of collaboration and transparency, the FDA encourages stakeholders to work with FDA as they develop best practices and implement RCAs. FDA subject matter experts may provide assistance to ensure alignment with federal laws and regulations. Stakeholders interested in discussing the development of a best practices document can submit a request to the Food and Cosmetic Information Center.
Food safety is a shared responsibility. The FDA looks forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to reduce and prevent pathogen-related foodborne illness and will continue to update these pages as the science and our lessons learned continue to evolve.
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