【正文】
ces being allocated to ensure the success and prompt application of existing and new efforts. Strategies and Solutions Several government agencies have gone through strategic planning exercises that have helped them to identify the strategies to be pursued in addressing the above issues. In simple terms, we can think of it as a twopronged aproach in which research and education are linked together to develop the best solutions. Research First, the microbial ecology of foodborne pathogens needs to be fully characterized throughout the production and processing of muscle and plant foods. In order to do so, the prevalence of specific pathogens in specific foods needs to be determined, including the sources of contamination from production through processing, retail sale, and food preparation. Through epidemiological studies, we must characterize the risk to food safety related to specific practices on the initial level and type of contaminants. We must also characterize the biological mechanisms of survival, adaptation to stress and antimicrobials, and growth of these anisms. Advanced technologies for the rapid and sensitive isolation and identification of foodborne pathogens need to be developed so as to provide realtime detection. Second, scientists must develop, test, and implement new technologies for the decontamination of a variety of foods in order to reduce the risks posed by foodborne pathogens. Along these lines, the effectiveness of existing strategies must be clearly determined and the appropriate application elucidated. Third, a thorough study and documentation of the economic benefits of these strategies needs to be included in order to obtain a realistic picture of what strategies should and should not be used in particular operations and by particularsized panies. Education An educational strategy, which is coordinated throughout all segments of the food continuum and involves all institutions, needs to be developed. Partnerships with appropriate agencies, trade anizations, food industry anizations, consumer anizations, and educational anizations need to be established and/or strengthened. This will facilitate the dissemination of food safety information to those members of the continuum responsible for a particular segment. Educational materialsrelated to the charact