The 2019 Annual Rapid Response Teams (RRT) Face to Face (F2F) meeting was held December 10-12, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. This was the 11th annual RRT F2F meeting; it included 24 RRT states (18 funded, 6 voluntary) and all 12 FDA Human and Animal Food Divisions, as well as the Division of Southwest Imports. It was the first meeting for 2 new RRTs: Connecticut and Kansas.
The theme for the meeting was ‘Off to the Races: RRTs in the Lead.’ In addition to panel presentations and lecture-based sessions, the meeting also featured a poster session (25 posters), two ‘Speed Dating’ sessions (10 tables at each of the one-hour sessions), and two tours of food facilities (a pork processing plant and a food bank). This year brought several firsts to the RRT F2F: a live episode of the Food Safety Talk podcast was recorded; and a half-day training was held after the general meeting concluded (Preparing Public Health Employees for Public Communication).
Top-rated presentations during meeting included panels on:
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- Salmonella/Pig Ears Multi-State Outbreak
- Cannabis/CBD in Foods Panel
- Hepatitis A Outbreak in Kentucky – Public Health & Food Program Response
- Large Scale Planned Events
- Cyclospora – a review of the investigations from the 2019 season
- Consumer Advisories, Press Releases and other Public Communications during Investigations: RRT Case Studies
- Best Practices for After Action Reviews
To learn more about the RRT Program, visit the FDA RRT webpage.
