College of Public Health Student Creates Website to Monitor Food Recalls
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Wilberforce Twinamatsiko, a doctoral student in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, has collaborated with a team of researchers to create a food safety website.
July 9, 2025 | Wilberforce Twinamatsiko, a student in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, is using modern technology to help people make safe food choices.
Twinamatsiko, who’s in the college’s Health Systems and Services Research doctoral program, is spearheading a group that has created a free website, Food Recall Tool. The website makes food recalls made by the United States Food and Drug Association (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) easier for consumers to access and understand.
“We figured we could simplify the information where it made more sense for everyone,” Twinamatsiko said. “Information on the FDA and USDA websites is not easily accessible. Also, it’s not easy to comprehend. Our website, featuring nationwide data from the FDA and USDA, is critical because they are the authoritative sources for food recall information. The info is helping people make informed decisions about the food they consume.”
“We recognized the need to simplify food recall data in a way that’s both accessible and easy to comprehend, especially for people who reside in food desert areas that are disproportionately impacted by limited access to food safety information,” he added.
The project was driven by two core objectives:
- Explore key regulatory agency databases (FDA, USDA) and identify existing infrastructure for recall data storage.
- Create a user-friendly and seamless platform that facilitates easy access to recall data for consumers.
“Each year, foodborne illness affects roughly one in six Americans — about 48 million people,” Twinamatsiko said, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Of those, an estimated 128,000 are hospitalized and more than 3,000 die. Our platform aims to reduce those numbers by giving people the information they need, when they need it.”
It also gives people the option to subscribe to email alerts regarding food recalls.
The website was further shaped by his own experiences. As a graduate student at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), Twinamatsiko studied Agricultural Regulations and Computer Science while living in a food desert with limited transportation.
“Getting to a store with fresh food is already hard,” he said. “But once you’re there, how do you know the food you’re buying hasn’t been recalled? I created this tool to fill that gap — to make critical safety data easy to access and understand.”
The website receives support from the Food Education for Nutritional Security and Empowerment in Local Communities project. UAPB governs the $750,000 National Science Foundation grant, which funds the study.
To gauge the website’s potential impact, Twinamatsiko and his team conducted a follow-up survey among UAPB students after the website was launched.
“The feedback was overwhelmingly positive,” Twinamatsiko said. “They like how the website’s info is easy to locate and easy to understand.
The survey helped us assess whether the tool met its goal of improving access to food recall information, he said. Ultimately, he wants to expand the website by incorporating educational resources, priority alerts for high-risk recalls, and partnerships with local organizations.
“Our site serves as a data-driven tool developed to improve community access to timely and reliable food safety information,” he said. “Our long-term vision is to make this a comprehensive food safety hub, particularly for vulnerable populations such as families with young children, older adults and low-income communities,” he said.
