Today, members of our food inspection team and our epidemiology team met with a delegation of hygiene and food professionals from Japan to exchange ideas about food safety.
The group, which consisted of representatives from government and industry, shared how food safety laws work at the local level in both countries and how food safety inspections are conducted. They also discussed emerging issues related to the changing food environment as well as how we conduct food-borne illness investigations.
The members of the Japanese delegation were particularly interested in how our team navigates our diverse food environment. King County is home to many different types of food, and the people preparing that food come from many different backgrounds.
“It was a wonderful opportunity to share information about something as concrete as food safety laws and as cultural as food,” said Food Safety Program Manager Becky Elias.
King County was just one stop on the Japanese delegation’s trip to the U.S. They came here from Washington, D.C., where they met with the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They have plans to visit COSTCO next.