Food and Nutrition

The U.S. food system provides many benefits, not the least of which is a safe, nutritious and consistent food supply. However, the same system also creates significant environmental, public health, and other costs that generally are not recognized and not ...

Globalization of the food supply has created conditions favorable for the emergence, reemergence, and spread of food-borne pathogens-compounding the challenge of anticipating, detecting, and effectively responding to food-borne threats to health. In the United States, food-borne agents affect 1 out ...

Exploring Sustainable Solutions for Increasing Global Food Supplies summarizes the second of two National Research Council workshops, addressing the sustainability challenges associated with food security for all. The workshop was held in May 2011. While sustainable food security depends both ...

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the regulatory agency in the US Department of Agriculture that is responsible for ensuring that meat, poultry, and processed egg products produced domestically or imported into the United States are safe, wholesome, ...

The Transformational Medical Technologies (TMT) has been a unique component of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) medical biodefense efforts since 2006. Its mission is to advance countermeasure research and development in support of the broader goal of the DoD ...

With the responsibility to ensure the safety of food, drugs, and other products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) faces decisions that may have public-health consequences every day. Often the decisions must be made quickly and on the basis ...

Years of using, misusing, and overusing antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant 'superbugs.' The IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats held a public workshop April 6-7 to discuss the nature and sources of drug-resistant pathogens, ...

To ensure the safety of food distributed through the National School Lunch Program, food banks, and other federal food and nutrition programs, the United States Department of Agriculture has established food safety and quality requirements for the ground beef it ...

Recent outbreaks of illnesses traced to contaminated sprouts and lettuce illustrate the holes that exist in the system for monitoring problems and preventing foodborne diseases. Although it is not solely responsible for ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply, ...

In the food industry, scientists are exploring the potential of nanotechnology to enhance the flavor and other sensory characteristics of foods, introduce antibacterial nanostructures into food packaging and encapsulate and deliver nutrients directly into targeted tissues, among other applications. ...