Over the past decade, the Partnership for Food Protection (PFP) has played an important role in advancing collaboration across state and federal regulatory programs and laboratories. Through shared workgroups, tools, and best practices, PFP has strengthened mutual reliance and supported the broader goal of a nationally integrated food safety system.
As the food safety landscape continues to evolve, so must the structures that support collaboration. Over the past several months, PFP leadership and partners have been evaluating how the organization could best support emerging national priorities, particularly the FDA’s Better Regulatory Inspections for Dynamic Government Efficiency (BRIDGE) initiative, which is focused on building the future framework for integrated food safety efforts.
During this process, it became increasingly clear that identifying new PFP projects that both aligned with BRIDGE and added distinct value (without duplicating work already underway) would be difficult at this time. At the same time, PFP has faced ongoing challenges in recruiting new members and project managers needed to sustain workgroup activities and maintain momentum.
Another important factor is the current lack of near-term funding for a national 50-state meeting. Historically, these in-person gatherings have been instrumental in attracting new participants, building relationships, and energizing workgroup efforts. Without that opportunity in the immediate future, it is unlikely that PFP would be able to achieve the level of engagement needed to support meaningful, ongoing work.
For these reasons, and following careful discussions with FDA and key partners, PFP leadership has decided to pause current activities for the time being.
This pause is not an end. It is a strategic step to ensure that future collaborative efforts are thoughtful, impactful, and aligned with the next phase of national food safety integration. As BRIDGE continues to develop and move toward implementation, we anticipate future opportunities for a group like PFP to re-engage, help shape best practices, and provide valuable feedback on ongoing and planned initiatives.
Looking ahead, any future revitalization of a collaborative group like PFP will need to reflect the full breadth of the integrated food safety system. That means broadening participation beyond regulators and laboratories to more fully include industry and consumer stakeholders, whose perspectives are essential to achieving a truly integrated system.
While this pause marks a transition, it is also an opportunity to recognize the significant accomplishments PFP has delivered over the past ten years. The tools, resources, and relationships built through this partnership have had a lasting impact on food safety collaboration nationwide.
We are deeply grateful to the many state, federal, and laboratory partners who have contributed their time, expertise, and leadership to PFP’s success.
For those who would like to remain engaged during this period, there are still meaningful opportunities to contribute through existing efforts such as the One Integrated Workforce and Retail and Laboratory Training System (RLTS) workgroups.
The spirit of collaboration that has defined PFP remains strong, and we look forward to building on that foundation when the time is right.