Background: Several historical reports (National Forum on Health, 1977; Naylor Report, 2003) have emphasized the need to create a culture of evidence-based decision making within public health. An environmental scan in 2004 demonstrated that very few systematic reviews had been published in the field of veterinary public health and food safety. The initiation of a proposed Strategy for Safe Food provided an ideal opportunity to initiate knowledge transfer work in this area. Objectives: To solicit priorities and targets for action from policy and decision-makers to reduce human illness related to microbial food borne pathogens. To promote alignment of resources in order to provide best available scientific evidence for risk analysis and policy and decision making related to these priorities. Methods: An expert cross-jurisdictional panel was created to identify priority pathogen/food product combinations, potential disease illness reduction targets, corresponding pathogen reduction targets in the food and performance indicators for the Strategy. A progressive iterative process examining existing scientific information, facilitating deliberative dialogue, and highlighting gaps using the ‘exchange’ model of knowledge transfer was used. Results: Three pathogen-food product combinations (Salmonella in chicken; Campylobacter in chicken; and E.coli O157 in ground beef) were selected as priorities. A policy logic/theory of change framework for an immediate and longer term approach with accompanying guiding principles facilitated the attainment of consensus on reduction targets as well as highlighting priority needs for surveillance, primary research and research synthesis. Subsequent efforts have been made to tailor scientific activities to address these priority needs. Conclusions: The exchange format for knowledge transfer was useful in developing a shared common understanding of current research relevant to policy and decision-making priorities and shaping those priorities. Subsequent science agendas were also shaped by the process.