Retail Food Outbreak Investigation Exercise
The Retail Food Outbreak Investigation tabletop exercise from the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) provides participants with a real-life, plausible retail food outbreak scenario to evaluate:
- Foodborne illness outbreak readiness and investigation procedures,
- Interagency collaboration,
- Communication, and
- Jurisdictional issue management.
This exercise was developed by a group of subject matter and instructional design experts. It supports Standard 5 of the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards as a mock foodborne illness investigation to test program readiness.
The Retail Food Outbreak Investigation Exercise uses the FREE-B (Food Related Emergency Exercise Bundle) format. FREE-B is a specialized exercise format designed for food safety and emergency response training. It consists of a collection of scenarios based on both intentional and unintentional food contamination events. The FREE-B format:
- Provides plausible food contamination events allowing agencies to assess existing plans, protocols, and procedures,
- Can be used by multiple jurisdictions together or by individual agencies, and enables participation from partners, and
- Offers a consistent format for food emergency response exercises across different agencies.
Last updated: October 15, 2024
