Health notes: New center in Minnesota will fight foodborne illnesses

Minnesota will be the home of a newly established Food Safety Centers for Excellence.

The center, intended to help prevent and respond to foodborne illnesses, will be established by the Minnesota Department of Health in partnership with the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, according to an announcement by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Minnesota was selected to establish the center by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which provided a grant of just under $200,000 to help the health department establish the center. It will provide resources for state and local officials nationally to improve food safety through better detection and investigation of outbreaks of foodborne illness.

Legislation responsible for the center’s creation was passed as part of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, a news release from Klobuchar’s office said.

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