GROVE CITY, Pa., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Barbara Kowalcyk, co-founder of the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention (CFI), was chosen by readers of The Huffington Post as the Ultimate Game Changer in the food category, recognizing the importance of her work to strengthen the food safety system in the United States and prevent foodborne illness.  

"Changing the way people approach food and its connections to health is not easy," said Kowalcyk, CFI's Director of Food Safety.  "But, the status quo is unacceptable.  In the United States alone, foodborne illness causes an estimated 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths each year.  If we hope to meet the food safety challenges of the 21st Century, we absolutely must change the game and put into place a new approach that integrates human, animal and environmental health to provide a more holistic and sustainable approach to food safety."

More than three million votes were cast in the Game Changer election, which recognized individuals in a variety of categories.  Arianna Huffington describes Game Changers as "innovators, visionaries, mavericks, and leaders who, whether working in the spotlight or under the radar, are changing the way we look at the world and the way we live in it."  Kowalcyk was honored at a celebration in New York City.

On October 9, the day that would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday, Yoko Ono awarded Kowalcyk the LennonOno Grant for Peace at a ceremony in Iceland.  There, Kowalcyk spoke about the fundamental importance of food safety to a healthy civil society in the United States and globally.

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Barbara Kowalcyk is a founder of the Center for Foodborne Illness with her mother, Patricia Buck.  They are featured in the 2009 documentary Food Inc.  She is a member of the National Academies of Science (NAS) Standing Committee on the Use of Public Health Data in FSIS Food Safety Programs, and served as one of the authors of the recent NAS report, Enhancing Food Safety: the Role of the Food and Drug Administration. She is completing her doctorate in Environmental Health with a focus in Epidemiology/Biostatistics at the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio.

SOURCE Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention

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http://www.foodborneillness.org/