Stenzel remarks before FDA

Amy Philpott sends along Tom Stenzel's remarks to the FDA. Find them at this link.

Stenzel doesn't wait long to get to a core talking point.

Let me quote from the federal register notice announcing today’s hearing. “FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of all domestic and imported fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States.” We believe that responsibility is at the very core of our discussion today. FDA has the legal responsibility to assure American consumers that their produce meets all acceptable safety requirements. Our industry must and will do all we can to grow, pack and process the safest possible products. But no matter what steps we take as an industry, the law requires, and the public demands, that FDA as an independent, public health agency be the final arbiter of what is safe enough.


Later....

No matter how hard our industry works, public confidence also ultimately depends upon government as the final health and regulatory authority to determine proper food safety standards and ensure that they are being met.

TK: Reflecting earlier statements, Stenzel's remarks ask for strong federal oversight, commodity specific guidelines and "geographically consistent produce food safety standards."

He concludes:

We as an industry must do all we can to prevent illnesses from ever occurring, and we will. At the same time, we pledge to support a strong federal food safety regulatory framework that assures the public that appropriate safety standards are in place and are being met by the industry.
Together, we can help consumers enjoy an ever increasing array of safe, healthy and nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables.