In 1985, the National Research Council issued a report evaluating the scientific basis of the Nation’s meat and poultry inspection program. The report focused on alternative strategies to assess and control risks from meat and poultry and to make food safety inspection more effective in protecting public health. Among the conclusions and recommendations was the need for a “rapid, timely, and flexible system to acquire, transfer, analyze, and make more widely available data related to inspection and to meatborne hazards.” Data are needed to identify the nature and extent of the food safety problem arising from foodborne pathogens and to evaluate public and private management and control of microbial pathogens in meats and poultry.