The last time it issued a global health alert was in 1993, to enhance measures to control tuberculosis.
In certain situations where a recall is not warranted, but there is still a risk to public health, FSIS may issue a public health alert.
If the nation were not distracted by the war in Iraq, people would certainly be obsessing about SARS, the mysterious respiratory illness that has triggered a global health alert.
As the World Health Organisation warns travellers to avoid Hong Kong and the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, James Meikle explains the bug behind the global health alert.
One health alert was issued in April in the state of Victoria after four people infected with measles disembarked an Air Asia flight from Malaysia in Melbourne.
In this case the global health alert and travel advisories that are meant to contain the droplets of the virus also spread virulent fear by word of mouth.
In the summer of 1988, ozone levels were so high in Acadia National Park in Maine that park officials had to issue their first health alert.
Microwave health alert.
It appears that we do not currently have one, given that France did not immediately interpret the announcement of contamination published by Belgium as a health alert.
Texas tourism, second in size only to that of California, had to cope with sweltering heat in the Dallas area last month as well as forest fires in Mexico earlier this summer that created smog conditions and led to a statewide health alert.