On 15 March 2023, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) announced the implementation of the Agricultural, Food and Environmental Pathogens Surveillance Procedure (PATH-SAFE) to better regulate and respond to foodborne illness.

The purpose of the Procedure is to establish a monitoring network at the national level, use the latest DNA sequencing technology and environmental sampling methods, strengthen cooperation and communication among relevant sectors, improve the detection and traceability of foodborne human pathogens and antimicrobial resistance throughout the agri-food system, from farm to table. The key is to build a new data platform to analyze and share pathogen sequencing data and traceable data, and to work with government departments and public organizations to collect relevant data and information from across the country.

The core work of the Program includes:

(1) Focus on the establishment and operation of the UK foodborne disease genetic data platform;

(2) Focus on new approaches for monitoring major functional bowel disorders (FBD) and related antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in agri-food areas;

(3) Focus on rapid, on-site diagnosis technology;

(4) Concern about antimicrobial resistance in the environment.