Rapid Response Team (RRT) Program
Rapid Response Team (RRT) Program —
2019 Annual Meeting
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. This multi-disciplinary meeting included various response partners from food/feed regulatory/environmental health, epidemiology, laboratory, academia, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), FDA, Indian Health Service (IHS), CDC, and USDA/FSIS. A total of 200 people attended the 2019 RRT F2F meeting, with 51% of attendees coming from state and local agencies and 49% of attendees from federal agencies.
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:
- 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.
2019 RRT Posters
Kentucky RRT
Multistate Outbreak of Escherichia coli O103 Linked to Ground Beef, Kentucky Perspective (View poster)
Michigan RRT
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Sampling Team Exercises March – July 2019 (View poster)
Missouri RRT (MRRT)
Information on Luster Dust Helps Missouri Tackle a Lead Case Regarding Food (View poster)
New York RRT
New York State Rapid Response Team: On the Job Experience to Full Preventive Controls Investigation (View poster)
Pennsylvania RRT
Pennsylvania Rapid Response Team: Salmonella Outbreak Related to Pig Ears (View poster)
Rhode Island RRT
One Form, Two Forms, Food Forms, New Forms: Continuously Improving the RI RRT’s Outbreak Responses (View poster)
Virginia RRT
Virginia’s RRT Egg-cellent Response to a Restaurant Associated Foodborne Outbreak (View poster)
Washington RRT
Washington RRT Annual Exercise: Intentional Contamination of Dry Cereal Product with Ricin (View poster)
Rapid Response Team (RRT) Program —
2020 Annual Meeting
The 2020 Annual Rapid Response Teams (RRT) Computer-to-Computer/Sea-to-Sea (C2C) meeting was held December 1-3, 2020 via the Pathable virtual meeting platform. This was the 12th annual RRT F2F meeting; it included 24 RRT states (18 funded, 6 unfunded/voluntary) and 15 FDA Districts (representing all 12 Human and Animal Food Divisions), as well as the Division of Southwest Imports. This multi-disciplinary meeting included various response partners from human and animal food regulatory/environmental health, epidemiology, laboratory, academia, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), FDA, CDC, USDA/APHIS, and USDA/FSIS. A total of 562 people attended the 2020 RRT C2C meeting, with 56% of attendees coming from state and local agencies and 43% of attendees from federal agencies.
The theme for the meeting was ‘Sailing into a new decade of human and animal food rapid response excellence.’ In addition to panel presentations and lecture-based sessions, the meeting also featured a poster session (23 posters) and a ‘Speed Dating’ session (15 tables).
Top-rated presentations during meeting included panels on:
- Peeling Back the Layers: Salmonella Newport/Red Onions Multi-State Outbreak
- COVID-19 Clusters Linked to Food Facilities
- Lettuce Romaine Calm: STEC/Romaine Multi-State Outbreaks, Fall 2019
- Cyclospora Multi-State Outbreak
- There’s More Than Fungus Among Us: Listeria monocytogenes/Enoki Mushrooms Multi-State Outbreak
- E. coli O103/Sprouts – Integrated Enforcement Actions
To learn more about the RRT Program, visit the FDA RRT webpage.
2020 RRT Posters
California RRT (CalFERT)
Development of an Improved Method of Sample Extraction and Quantitation of Multi-Mycotoxin in Feed by LC-MS/MS (view poster).
Iowa RRT
An Outbreak of E. coli O103 Traced to Sprouts; Implications for the FSMA Produce Safety Rule (view poster).
Maryland RRT (SMarRRT)
E. coli O157 Outbreak Associated with Pre-Packaged Romaine Salad Bowls – Maryland 2019 (view poster).
Michigan RRT
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: Regulating and Responding—Special Coronavirus Edition (view poster).
North Carolina RRT
The Power of Us: Multiagency Partnership to Solve Outbreak in North Carolina (view poster).
Rhode Island RRT
Multi-State Scombroid Outbreak Associated with Tuna: A Rhode Island Perspective (view poster).
Shopper History Outbreak Partnership
Shopper Cards and Beyond – Success Stories of Using Consumer Purchase Data to Solve Outbreaks (view poster).
South Carolina RRT
Virtual Inspections and Outreach in Response to COVID-19: Ensuring Food Safety When You Can’t Be There in Person (view poster).
Texas RRT (TRRT)
The Revolution will not be Re-labeled? The Public Health Implications of Social Media (view poster).
USDA FSIS
Results of the FY19 and FY20 FSIS Surveys of Foodborne Illness Outbreak Investigation Partners – Improving Collaborative Response (view poster).
Washington RRT
Keeping the RRT “Fresh”: Lessons Learned on RRT Membership a Decade Post-Establishment (view poster).
Wisconsin RRT
Leveraging Food Protection Task Forces During a Food Related Incident, A case study of E. coli O157:H7 in romaine lettuce – November 2019 (view poster).
*A total of 23 posters were presented at the meeting, but only 21 received clearance from presenting agencies for public sharing.
