Remembering the Late Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Role in Food Safety

After the passing of Senator Dianne Feinstein on September 29, we recognize her legacy for supporting the establishment of an FDA Center for Food Safety at UC Davis’ Western Institute for Food Safety and Security (WIFSS). WIFSS is a program of the School of Veterinary Medicine and College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences where the FDA Center is addressing the increases of foodborne illnesses reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the public consumption of contaminated raw agricultural foods.   

California produces 85% of the leafy greens and leads the nation in many other vegetable and nut specialty crops destined for the US and foreign markets. This center has used the concept of One Health as the approach for identifying the causes, sources, distribution and various mitigation steps that need to be taken to address this major challenge of these nutritious food crops so important to the diets of Americans.  

The Western Institute for Food Safety has served as the lead research arm for the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Nutrition. The One Health concept is now being supported by the UN’s World Health Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health as the agencies to address those issues and disease problems affecting people, animals, plants in the environment we all share.

WIFSS utilizes a multidisciplinary team of scientists that includes epidemiologists, water quality, soil and plant  scientists, microbiologists, wildlife and veterinary scientists and public health experts to address these complex problems. Senator Feinstein’s support ensured that the Western Institute for Food Safety could serve as a critical One Health cornerstone for improving the health and sustainability of society's foods sources.