FDA's food plant registration system wins award

FDA Industry Systems (FIS), a global extranet used for food facility registration and prior notice of shipments for U.S. imports created under the Bioterrorism Act, was one of five government projects to receive an Excellence.Gov award from the Industry Advisory Council (IAC). The awards program, now in its fifth year, recognizes initiatives that demonstrate best practices in federal eGovernment implementations.An IAC press release described FIS as "an easy-to-use electronic registry of food facilities, providing advanced notice of food imports to regulatory personnel. Its functions closely align with HHS and FDA priorities for protecting the homeland by enhancing food safety and security capabilities and collaborating with other agencies of the federal government. FIS helps ensure that food entering the U.S. is safe for consumption. Providing a Web-based solution successfully addresses the challenge of moving food items rapidly over the border, while maintaining security of the imports."The “Top 5” winners were recognized for their achievements in eGovernment based on the following criteria: the program’s impact on the agency’s ability to deliver on its mission; an effective adoption strategy demonstrated by measurable results; the incorporation of industry and government best practices related to adoption strategy; and the evidence of excellent satisfaction among stakeholders, participants, and end-users.The IAC is an advisory body of the American Council for Technology (ACT), a 25-year-old nonprofit organization committed to leading the IT community to improve government. The mission of IAC, which was established in 1989 and now represents over 400 IT companies, is "to bring industry and government executives together to exchange information, support professional development, improve communications, and build partnership and trust, thereby enhancing government’s ability to serve the nation."Additional information on the Excellence.Gov awards can be found at www.actgov.org/ExcellenceGov.