The 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) aims to create an integrated food safety system. The free flow of information is vital to reaching the goal of such a system, but, unfortunately, information sharing among federal, state, and local agencies faces policy and legal obstacles. Federal and state privacy laws and enforcement laws sometimes prevent the timely two-way sharing of information. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) released a report to improve the understanding of the legal and institutional frameworks impacting information sharing during a foodborne disease outbreak and how these frameworks differ from state to state.
The report features an appendix of state laws and regulations relating to state health agency (SHA) authority to protect non-public information from public disclosure, along with extensive information from the states and District of Columbia on state practices with regards to information sharing with federal and state food regulatory agencies.
