Seeing the Forest Through the Trees: Advancing Integration in the U.S. Food Protection System

Calls to integrate the regulatory oversight of the U.S. food system have been echoed for decades through studies, reports, and policy forums—yet meaningful change has remained elusive. While the FDA’s recent creation of the Office of Inspections and Investigations marks an important step toward more coordinated oversight, the USDA’s FSIS still lacks a parallel structure, and significant gaps persist across the broader food protection landscape.

From food safety and quality to food defense, food integrity, and physical and digital security, the farm to fork system continues to operate in silos. This fragmentation not only creates regulatory confusion for industry stakeholders but also fuels inconsistent enforcement and mixed messages for consumers potentially leading to negative public health impacts and loss of consumer trust due to confusing recall messages—exemplified by the widely cited disparity in how cheese and pepperoni pizzas are regulated by different federal agencies.

This topic will be discussed at the Food Safety Consortium conference in Alexandria VA., October 19-21. Panelists include Benjamin Reading, Ph.D. Interim Assistant Director, NC Agricultural Research Service (NCARS) Associate Professor & University Faculty Scholar, North Carolina State University and Jason Bashura, M.P.H., RS, a 25+ yrs. public health and food protection professional. Ben and Jason discuss the need for truly unified, risk-based U.S. food protection system in this 26 minute recorded webinar. To watch the video, click on the image below or this link: Watch the Webinar.

After watching the video, we invite you to take a quick 5 question survey on this topic. You can win a chance to receive a complimentary registration to the Food Safety Consortium by correctly identifying the number of times Jason says the two words “Food Protection” in the webinar. Click here to take the Survey.

The session at the Food Safety Consortium will convene leaders from regulatory agencies, industry, academia, and NGOs to explore the structural and operational challenges that continue to hinder integration. Through their collective insights, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of what a truly unified, risk-based food protection system could look like, why such a system is needed now more than ever, and how emerging solutions—both policy-based and practical—can help close longstanding gaps.

By moving beyond agency silos and outdated jurisdictional lines, this session challenges participants to rethink what it means to protect the food supply and to consider how collaboration can turn complexity into clarity. This is the next step in seeing the forest through the trees—and laying the groundwork for a smarter, more resilient food protection system.

The Food Safety Consortium, presented by Food Safety Tech and the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) will take place October 19-21, 2025, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington VA directly across the Potomac River from  Washington, DC. The Program starts with several pre-conference workshops and training which leads into two full days of high-level panel discussions and educational presentations that will be sure to open your mind and expose you to a variety of topics, ideas and like-minded Food PROTECTION professionals who will be in attendance.

For a limited time, you can receive a 10% discount off registration by entering the discount code FoodProtection. Visit FoodSafetyConsortium.org