Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention
The Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention (CFI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving food safety.
CFI was founded in 2006 by Patricia Buck and her daughter Barbara Kowalcyk after Kowalcyk lost a son to E. coli. CFI is involved in food safety in a number of ways. It takes part in foodborne illness research, including treatment and prevention; IT Works to educate the public on foodborne illness, creating educational materials as well as providing speakers; and it acts as an advocate for national food safety, by talking with policy makers as well as food safety regulators.
The board of directors includes Tanya Roberts, formerly with the USDA, Kevin Elfering of the University of Minnesota, former food inspector, Rebecca Hohlstein of DSM Food Specialties, bacteriologist, Arun Sawardekar of Sawardekar Pediatrics Associates, and Patti Waller of Marler Clark, former lead epidemiologist at the Washington State Health Department.