Welcome to the conversation

The food safety "conversation" grows. From President Bush today on the White House Web site:

The American people expect their government to work tirelessly to make sure consumer products are safe. And that is precisely what my administration is doing. I've called together key members of my Cabinet to review the procedures in place, the regulations in place, the practices in place to make sure that our food supply remains the safest in the world. The world is changing, and in order to make sure that we can continue to have the confidence of our consumers, that we will continually review practices and procedures to assure the American consumer.
And so I've asked Mike Leavitt, the Secretary of HHS, to lead a task group that will report back to me in 60 days on a strategy that will review procedures in place and regulations in place to make sure that they're meeting the needs of a changing world; that part of our strategy is we work with our countries from which we import goods to make sure that their procedures and practices will give us comfort. And, finally, we'll be working with companies that import goods from around the world, to make sure that their practices meet the high standards that we set for the United States.
This is a serious issue -- food safety and consumer safety is a serious issue. We take it seriously and we spend a lot of time on it in this administration. So Michael, I want to thank you very much for taking on this task force. It's important for the American people to know their government is on top of the situation and constantly reviewing procedures and practices. So thank you.

Here is the link to the executive order for the task force.


From Rep. Rosa DeLauro:

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) issued the following statement about President George W. Bush’s executive order creating a government working group to recommend steps to improve the safety of food imports.

“Today, the President responded to the outcry of public concern over food safety in this country. Unfortunately, instead of announcing a comprehensive proposal to beef up our inspection of imports, the Administration has created a working group to recommend steps.

“It is also disconcerting that that Secretary Leavitt will lead the panel, particularly when it was his agency that was responsible for dismissing an FDA proposal to strengthen regulations of fresh cut produce. And in creating the group the President did not include the Commissioner of the FDA. Even though the FDA is part of HHS, it is the agency responsible for the safety of 80% of our food.

“While I welcome the President to the conversation, we need to move beyond talking and begin taking concrete steps to improve our food safety. It starts with providing mandatory recall authority, so agencies can move quickly to remove tainted products from the shelves and continues with the FDA insisting on equivalent standards with our trading partners.

“In the past claims that a lack of resources has prevented the FDA and the USDA from performing its duties, and in the Agriculture, FDA Appropriations Bill, I take steps to address this issue. However, based on the litany of evidence that continues to mount, it has become all too clear that a lack of commitment from leadership is also to blame for a disjointed food and drug safety system that fails to prioritize public health.”

And here is a link to testimony by Andrew Eschenbach of the FDA in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee. From his prepared remarks, on the FDA's plan:

I expect the plan to focus on efforts by industry to prevent food problems, and FDA interventions that provide the tools and science necessary not only to head off outbreaks of foodborne illness but address intentional contamination as well, and also to ensure compliance with preventive controls that are designed to stop problems before they arise.