Environmental investigations associated with foodborne outbreaks or product contamination are conducted by the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) of the Food and Drug Branch,
Food Safety Section. ERU is charged with responding to foodborne illness outbreaks, food recalls and researching methods to reduce the prevalence of pathogens in potentially hazardous foods. During foodborne illness outbreaks, ERU conducts environmental investigations and produces reports of its findings.
To increase efficiency, communication, and effectiveness of investigations, FDB, in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's San Francisco and Los Angeles District Offices formed the
California Food Emergency Response Team (CalFERT) (PDF) in 2005. CalFERT's focus is developing a team of investigators, microbiologists, chemists, and epidemiologists from federal and state agencies to jointly investigate foodborne outbreaks.
For any questions or to obtain a report older than five years, please contact FDB's Emergency Response Unit at
FDBERU@cdph.ca.gov or (916) 650-6607.