Washington State Food Protection Task Force

The Washington State Food Protection Task Force (FPTF) was formed in August 2012 through grant funding received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The task force pulls together federal, state, and local government to work together to identify and address human and animal protection issues in Washington State. Member agencies have expertise in food, feed, epidemiology, laboratory, animal health, environmental, and public health. The vision of the Washington State Food Protection Task Force is to:

• Identify and address food and feed safety issues within Washington State
• Provide food safety and food defense education opportunities to all stakeholders
• Through quarterly meetings, provide a forum to enhance communication and strengthen partnerships amongst regulatory agencies

Current goals of the Washington State Food Protection Task Force are to:

• Develop and maintain a statewide Food Emergency Response Plan (FERP) and Resource Guide (FERRG)
• Enhance communication and collaboration amongst Washington State regulatory laboratories
• Serve as a forum for laws and regulations that impact multiple regulatory stakeholders
• Serve as a forum to discuss coordination of multi-agency public health activities
•  Enhance public and industry awareness of the food and feed regulatory agencies in Washington State
• Develop and maintain a website with information on food and feed safety topics important to industry, academia, consumers and Food Protection Task Force participants.

For more information on task force activities: wa.foodprotectiontaskforce.com