IFSAC Food Categorization Scheme

At a glance

The IFSAC food categorization scheme has five distinct levels to which foods can be assigned, depending upon the type of food.

Food categorization

Foods are assigned to one of four food groups (aquatic animals, land animals, plants, and other) which include specific food categories. These foods are then differentiated by differences in food processing.

IFSAC’s food categorization scheme
IFSAC’s food categorization scheme for foods linked to foodborne disease outbreaks. This scheme has...
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food categorizations with examples
IFSAC Food Categorizations
Food categories with examples
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These documents are based on work of the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration, a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Aquatic animals

Aquatic Animals includes three major food types, Fish, Shellfish, and Other Aquatic Animals.

Land animals

Land Animals includes four major food types, Dairy, Game, Meat-Poultry, and Eggs.

Plants

Plants includes four major food types, Oils-Sugars, Produce, Grains-Beans, and Nuts-Seeds.

Other

Examples include ice and dietary supplements.

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Content Source:
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
  • Richardson LC, Bazaco MC, Parker CC, Dewey-Mattia D, Golden N, Jones K, Klontz K, Travis C, Zablotsky Kufel J, Cole D. An updated scheme for categorizing foods implicated in foodborne disease outbreaks: a tri-agency collaboration. Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2017 Sep 19, ahead of print. Read the abstract.
  • Painter JA, Ayers T, Woodruff R, Blanton E, Perez N, Hoekstra R, Griffin PM, Braden C. Recipes for foodborne outbreaks: a scheme for categorizing and grouping implicated foods. Foodborne Pathog Dis, 2009; 6:1259-64. Read the article.