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Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition (IFSN)

The Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition (IFSN) is one of four institutes within the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within the United States Department of Agriculture’s Research, Education, and Economics mission area.  IFSN administers federal funding designed to advance agricultural research, education, Extension and innovation with a focus on food safety and nutrition. That is, IFSN supports food safety programs that improve the safety and quality of the United States food supply for a healthy population and an improved quality of life. IFSN also supports human nutrition programs that aim to strengthen integrated approaches to encouraging healthy choices, healthy families and healthy outcomes and that enhance connections with American’s farmers. 

NIFA’s nutrition efforts are grounded in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, and other federal food and nutrition guidelines and priorities.  IFSN employs the peer review process for competitive grant programs, where panels comprised of scientists and other subject matter experts review proposals and is actively recruiting peer-reviewers. In partnership with other federal science agencies, IFSN contributes to science policy decision-making to improve food safety and nutrition. 

 

IFSN Leadership, Divisions, and National Science Liaison 

IFSN Priorities

Food Safety Goals
  • Reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses through a multidisciplinary approach including decreasing related risk factors.
  • Advance the science regarding the impacts of foodborne illness and optimal strategies to control costs related to food safety issues.
  • Develop and promote improved food processing technologies to ensure that food appearance, flavor, and texture are retained when nutritional quality is improved.
  • Create new food products and improve packaging.   
Nutrition Goals 
  • Using innovative transdisciplinary solutions to promote healthy eating patterns and behaviors to tackle the “whole picture” regarding underlying factors and most promising strategies.
  • Harnessing a comprehensive research agenda to build a more resilient and nourishing food system, including:
    • Production (e.g. agroecology, community and home food gardening, urban agriculture, farmers’ markets, regional food systems). Preparation (e.g. ensuring sufficient, safe, and nutritious food preparation for everyone including disaster preparedness).
    • Promotion (e.g. fostering a circular economy in rural areas by promoting local and regional food supply chains).
    • Consumption (e.g. enabling positive healthy eating behavior to decrease the health and financial burden of diet-related, noncommunicable diseases and health disparities).
    • Improve the nutritional quality of Federal nutrition safety net.
    • Disposal (e.g. limit food loss and waste while ensuring food safety).
  • Integrating with efforts to reduce weather-related risks and impacts, as well as improve community, and national resilience using transformative discoveries, education, and engagement.
  • Engaging individual, family, and community agency and capacity building. 
Relevant NIFA Programs
Relevant NIFA Topic Pages
Relevant Resources

 

Page last updated: March 16, 2026
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