National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods

The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods was established in 1987 to advise the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services concerning the development of science-based, microbiological standards by which the safety of foods can be evaluated and by which plant sanitation and processing systems can be improved.

The committee's work also assists the CDC and the Departments of Commerce and Defense. The committee is the outcome of a 1985 report of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Food Protection, Subcommittee on Microbiological Criteria.

In 1997, the Committee released recommendations regarding the "microbiological safety of sprouted seeds."

As of 2013, the committee consisted of 22 members.