The Interagency Risk Assessment Consortium (IRAC) is a network of U.S. federal agencies with responsibilities or interests in developing food-safety risk-assessment tools or conducting or using food-safety risk assessments. Mandated by presidential order in 1998, IRAC is a central coordinator and technical resource for collaboration, efficient use of federal resources, and innovation among these agencies. The consortium:
- Focuses on existing and emerging public-health issues related to food safety
- Identifies and coordinates opportunities for cross-agency collaborations and innovations
- Provides mechanisms for sharing risk-assessment tools, data, methods, and information
- Identifies gaps in food-safety data needed to populate risk models; encourages research in those areas
- Creates synergy among agencies
