Caroline DeWaal - Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest
Leading a farm-to-table food safety vision
While a lot of attention is paid to producers, inspectors, transporters and others working within our food supply chain, who’s looking out for consumers? In an era of governance gaps and expanding threats to the food supply, leaders such as Caroline DeWaal are needed to protect consumers around the world.
A lawyer and public interest activist, DeWaal has directed the food safety program for the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) since 1994. As a leader of this consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., DeWaal plays many roles. Some days she represents the interests of millions of consumers while testifying before the U.S. Congress. On other days she liases with federal agencies and scientific bodies such as the National Academy of Sciences.
Her role also includes analyzing global policy with colleagues at international bodies such as the World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
“In its most simple form, food safety is about preventing illnesses. However, to make improvements in the global marketplace, we must examine the cultural construct of food production, retailing, purchasing and handling, which can look very different from country-to-country and region-to region. All this is part of the challenge of a global food supply.”
DeWaal recognizes that food safety needs a farm-to-table vision as it is at the intersection of animal health, water safety, hygiene conditions and environmental changes.
“As global trade increases and our food webs become more complex, working to improve the safety of the food supply for one corner of the world requires a broader world vision. Hazards can cross national and international boundaries, hitch-hiking on the food that we transport around the world,” says DeWaal.
In 1997, DeWaal created “Outbreak Alert,” the first database to connect food-related disease outbreaks with the specific food source. With more than 17 years of data on thousands of outbreaks sorted by food source, pathogen, and location, it has become a valuable asset for those in industry, academia, government and intergovernmental organizations.
DeWaal also established Safe Food International (SFI) in 2003. SFI links consumer groups globally around the issue of food safety in a constructive way to specialists at WHO and FAO. The result has been the publication of multi-lingual guidelines for consumer organizations to promote national food safety programs.
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