Prepared by a task force of thirteen scientists, this issue paper provides a timely consideration of critical issues:microbiological safety of foods of animal origin during production; food processing strategies for manufactured foods of animal origin, both ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat; food safety initiatives in retailing; consumer interventions to enhance food safety; challenges to applying food safety controls uniformly across all sectors of the food service industry; and recommendations for development and application of new intervention strategies to decrease human illnesses attributed to foods derived from animals.