DeLauro opening statement

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn, chairwoman of the House Agriculture – FDA Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following opening statement during the Sept. 25 subcommittee hearing: “Ensuring the Safety of Food Imports.”

“Today, this subcommittee convenes its second hearing examining food safety issues. The committee held its first in February and focused on the GAO’s report designating the federal oversight of our food safety system as a high-risk area in need of reform. Since that first hearing, numerous threats have come to light regarding food imports, the most well-known being the recall of pet food due to contaminated ingredients from China. The pet food recall, and many other cases of tainted or dangerous food entering the United States from abroad have exposed major problems that our nation must face together as it tries to ensure the safety of its food imports. That our entire system is at risk at a time of accelerated threats must become a call to action in the Congress – that is why we are meeting today.

“Our government has an obligation to its citizens. When the mechanisms in place to protect public health and safety begin to fail, we have a responsibility to figure out why. That is what this hearing is about. We are not here to make speeches -- we are here to ask some hard questions about the safety of our food.

“How safe are the imported foods that Americans are eating?

“Is the U.S. government doing its job to ensure the safety of imported foods?

“Are U.S. businesses meeting their responsibility to ensure the safety of food products they import?

“What should the FDA do differently to improve the safety of foods that are imported into the U.S.?

“The amount of food imported to the U.S. has increased considerably in recent years, to approximately 13 percent of the annual American diet. More than ¼ of all fruit, ½ of all tree nuts, and 2/3 of all fish and shellfish consumed in the U.S. are imports. The average American will consume more than 260 pounds of imported food each year.

“More than 75 percent of all seafood is imported, and the Center for Disease Control estimates that contaminated seafood accounts for 15 percent of all documented food-borne illness outbreaks – a greater percentage than either meat or poultry, even though meat and poultry are consumed at 8 and 6 times the rate of seafood, respectively.

“Canada, Mexico, Italy, Australia and Ireland are the top five agricultural exporters to the U.S. by value. But China which exported $4.2 billion worth of food and agriculture products to the U.S. is sixth, when seafood values are combined with agricultural products, China was 3rd after Canada and Mexico, but its exports grew almost twice as fast as any of the top five producers in 2006, meaning that if current trends persist, China could become the largest exporter by value in less than a decade. With so much pressure in China for company executives and government officials to toe the line to authority it is important, therefore, that we shine the spotlight here.

“These rapid changes mean our government must change the way it responds as well. Mr. Acheson from the FDA, who we will hear from later, has often stated that we will not be able to inspect our way out of this problem. And I agree. There is no system that could physically handle the entire ever-increasing volume of food imports that continues to enter our borders every year.

“Significant reform requires more than just superficial remedies, increased funding, and increased inspections. Too often, in the face of change, the FDA has been passive and reactive. Too often, it seems as if this administration is more focused on trade relations than consumer safety, more on public relations than public health. Even in the face of recent industry interest in seeking more of a formal regulatory scheme and inspections, the FDA would not -- or did not have the institutional clout to -- allow for it. Increased trade with China and other developing countries should never require us to compromise our standards of health and safety. At the core of this hearing is whether the FDA is so compromised that it cannot act in the public interest, even when facing such threats.

“Yet, consumers have reason to worry that the system they count on to protect them is no longer working, and the food they feed their families is not as safe as it should be. That must change.

“Many argue that the FDA desperately needs additional funds to perform its duties and that the funding level provided in the House-passed bill is not enough.

“But let us be clear: if the funding level for the FDA in the House bill becomes law, the agency will have received an additional $231 million since FY 2006. Clearly the FDA is receiving additional funds – the real question should be where are the funds going and how are they being spent? Are there leaders and a culture in this agency that are passionate about protecting the public interest?

“With this year’s spending bill, we have directed the FDA to submit a plan to begin changing its approach to food safety with the fiscal year 2009 budget. This will give the Committee time to review the plan before the funds to implement it become available on July 1, 2008.

“At the same time, in order to restore consumer confidence and maintain our trading relationship with China nations like it, we must establish genuine transparency and equivalent food safety regulations between our two governments.

“But what we need most is to reexamine the agency’s culture – to assess the FDA’s priorities and look at the way the agency approaches its own duty to protect the public health. New resources are essential, but they are not sufficient. There also needs to be a commitment to serve the public’s interest, not the special interests.

“That is what this hearing is about. We are not here to relive this past year’s failures. We are here to find out, exactly and in detail, what the government is doing to make sure those failures do not occur again.

“Earlier this month, the administration’s Interagency Working Group on Import Safety offered a so-called strategic report for continual improvement in import safety. But what that really meant were vague discussions of quote “building blocks” and “frameworks”. There is NO mention of the GAO’s own comprehensive report -- which identified our federal food safety system as a high risk area. And there is NO mention of any action plan ensuring the safety of imported food.

“The report says details are forthcoming, but with public health at stake, we cannot afford to wait. We cannot afford anymore foot-dragging. With an increasingly global food supply system, consumers have reason to worry that the system they count on to protect them can no longer keep up, and the food they feed their families is not as safe as it should be.

“We are here to listen. We are going to ask a lot of questions today and I look forward to getting some answers."