Food Safety Surveillance System
The surveillance systems have a dual purpose. First is to detect, control and prevent foodborne disease outbreaks. Most of the countries have such surveillance and response systems in place, but the effectiveness and coverage of those systems vary from country to country. Many people outline such foodborne disease outbreak investigations, including their detection and control through food safety mechanisms and discuss the food safety response including the importance of developing emergency response plans for food safety. The second is to inform long-term issues, like identifying priorities and developing policy for the control and prevention of foodborne diseases; estimating the burden of foodborne diseases and monitoring trends; and evaluating foodborne disease prevention and control strategies. However, only a few countries have surveillance systems in place that can meet these objectives, severely impacting the efficiency of their food control systems.