WASHINGTON — The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) recently participated in the USDA’s Farm to Fork meeting, which brought together groups from the cattle, poultry and swine industries, along with state and federal agencies, to examine topics important for public health and agriculture.

Ashley Johnson, DVM, director of food policy for NPPC, worked on the steering committee for the meeting, which was presented as part of the USDA’s One Health Initiative. That collaboration brings together health science professionals and veterinarians to address diseases that could affect the health of humans, animals and the environment. 

Johnson also discussed pork industry priorities in various roundtable discussions and panel presentations.

“NPPC’s proactive involvement underscores its commitment to influencing food safety policies through science-based practices,” the association said of its meeting with Farm to Fork. “Without NPPC’s seat at the table, there is potential for policy to be implemented that could drastically change producers’ freedom to operate.”

Some of the topics discussed during the meeting included preharvest food safety trends, concerns and successes across industry, local, state and federal partners. Other areas of discussion included reducing pathogens in the broader agricultural environment and the recurrent, emerging and persistent enteric bacterial strains of public health concern.

Finally, attendees examined integrating a One Health perspective to support coordination, transparency, communication and collaboration for agencies and stakeholders.