The Food Forum convenes scientists, administrators, and policymakers from academia, government, industry, and public sectors on an ongoing basis to discuss problems and issues related to food, food safety, and regulation and to identify possible approaches for addressing those problems and issues. The Forum provides a rapid way to identify areas of concordance among these diverse interest groups. It does not make recommendations, nor does it offer specific advice. It does compile information, develop options, and bring interested parties together.

The National Academies (NAS) Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) established the Food Forum in 1993 to allow selected science and technology leaders in the food industry, top administrators in the federal government, representatives from consumer interest groups, and academicians to periodically discuss and debate food and food related issues openly and in a neutral setting. The Forum provides a mechanism for these diverse groups to identify possible approaches for addressing food and food safety problems and issues surrounding the often complex interactions among industry, academia, regulatory agencies, and consumers.

The purpose of a Forum at the NAS is to foster dialogue and discussion across sectors and institutions. Public forums offer a mechanism for convening individuals from a variety of government, academic, industry, and citizen groups and provide a structured opportunity for open communication among representatives of these groups. The objective, however, is to illuminate issues, not to resolve them. Unlike study committees of the IOM, Forums cannot provide advice or recommendations to any government agency or other organization. Similarly, workshop summaries or other products resulting from forum activities are not intended to reach conclusions or recommendations but, instead, are to reflect the variety of opinions expressed by the participants.