Human and Animal Food Testing Overview

Testing human and animal food products helps ensure that our food supply is healthy, safe and free of harmful contaminants. Human and animal food (HAF) testing laboratories conduct surveillance and response activities—including foodborne outbreak investigations—to detect foodborne hazards so:

• Contaminated products can be recalled
• Hazards can be traced back to their source and kept from spreading or recurring
• Foods known to be carriers of contaminants, or from certain locations or sources, can be flagged for additional testing. 

HAF laboratories support and extend the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) charge to monitor the US food supply by:

• Collecting and testing food products for harmful contaminants
• Responding quickly to outbreaks
• Testing food products beyond what FDA has the capability or capacity to perform.

APHL supports and enhances the capabilities of HAF laboratories through cooperative agreements from FDA to advance the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the creation of a national Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS). 

The agreements have supported HAF laboratories seeking to achieve or enhance ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, as well as strengthen testing capacity and capability in these laboratories, with an overall goal of supporting mutual reliance between state and federal partners.

• Building a competent human and animal food laboratory workforce by developing and delivering trainings, workshops, and other educational resources in support of the FDA Regulatory and Laboratory Training System.
• Supporting state laboratory data utilization for federal regulatory action by developing resources that promote quality assurance and mutual reliance between strategic partners.
• Planning and hosting conferences and meetings related to the Laboratory Flexible Funding Model (LFFM) disciplines and the GenomeTrakr network.
• Providing direct technical assistance to non-FDA funded human and animal food testing laboratories working towards achieving ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.
• Enhancing and maximizing human and animal food laboratory participation in the GenomeTrakr network and other networks relevant to LFFM tracks.

Foods—and foodborne outbreaks—often cross state lines, so it’s essential that laboratories can trust testing results from other agencies around the country. Confidence in the integrity and scientific validity of laboratory data and the acceptance of those data by regulatory agencies is critical to the success of an integrated system.

Visit HAF Laboratory Resources for related materials

The Partnership for Food Protection (PFP) provides guidance on implementing the necessary infrastructure and food safety strategies essential to building an integrated human and animal food safety system. Integration endeavors include investments in laboratory accreditation, increasing laboratory capacity and capability, and building stronger relationships between the laboratory and regulatory agencies. These efforts provide added value for the mission of protecting public health by enhancing the quality of data submitted to regulatory agencies.

The Major Laboratory Initiatives (MLI) repository captures information related to current national integration programs that contain a laboratory component. The PFP Laboratory Science Work Group created the MLI repository to summarize current integration efforts related to networks and capacity building, laboratory quality management systems and program-specific funding. The efforts listed below are collaborations and potential funding streams that involve human and animal food laboratories. Food safety professionals can use the MLI repository to improve coordination and cooperation among strategic partners and avoid any duplicative efforts. Laboratories can use the repository to identify new funding sources, as well as discover opportunities for collaboration among other laboratories or program partners.

The PFP Laboratory Sciences Workgroup intends to update the MLI repository on a regular basis to reflect changes in integration program initiatives and funding opportunities. Application deadlines vary for each initiative, and some funding opportunities will be unavailable post-publication. However, this repository can aid laboratories and other interested parties in recognizing the scope of integration initiatives and programs available and is current at the time of publication.

APHL is committed to assisting laboratories as they strengthen their data defensibility through robust quality management systems. When regulatory partners are confident in the quality of laboratory data, quicker compliance actions can be taken to protect the food supply.  APHL and its partners have developed several resources over the years that work together to outline components of a quality management system compliant with the ISO/IEC 17025 standard.

APHL collaborates with the Association of Food and Drug Officials, Association of American Feed Control Officials and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address the needs of HAF regulatory laboratories seeking initial, or expanding current scope of accreditation, as well as those looking to improve quality management systems and optimize testing capabilities. Resources produced by this group include best practice guidance, accreditation strategies and more.

APHL provides documents, best practice guidance and accreditation resources for laboratories conducting regulatory food and animal feed testing, and supports labs seeking new or expanded accreditation, improved quality systems and optimized testing capabilities.