Article

White House outlines U.S. food safety upgrade

Steps designed to enhance food safety include new industry guidelines for produce.

July 7, 2009

Vice President Joe Biden, Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack have announced the key findings of the Food Safety Working Group.

Created by President Barack Obama in March to advise the administration on how to upgrade the food safety system for the 21st century, the Working Group is recommending a new, public health-focused approach to food safety based on three core principles: prioritizing prevention, strengthening surveillance and enforcement and improving response and recovery.

The Working Group announced specific steps designed to advance its core principles. Those steps include:

HHS and USDA are targeting salmonella contamination by developing tougher standards to protect the safety of eggs, poultry and turkey.
To fight the threat of E. coli, the USDA is stepping up enforcement in beef facilities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is developing new industry guidance improving protections for leafy greens, melons and tomatoes.
The Obama Administration is building a new national traceback and response system including clearer industry guidance, a new unified incident command system and improved use of technology to deliver individual food safety alerts to consumers.

The Administration also announced a plan to strengthen the organization of federal food-safety functions, including the creation of new positions at key food safety agencies and a continuing oversight role for the Food Safety Working Group.

The Food Safety Working Group is chaired by secretaries Sebelius and Vilsack.

Participating agencies include the FDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, the Environmental Protection Agency and several offices of the White House.

"There are few responsibilities more basic or more important for the government than making sure the food our families eat is safe," said Biden in a news release. "Our food safety system must be updated – one in four people get sick every year due to food-borne illness, and children and the elderly are more at risk. I applaud the secretaries of HHS and the USDA for tackling this problem head-on and coming up with key recommendations to ensure the health and safety of our food supply and, with it, the American people."

The Washington Postreportsthat 15 federal agencies oversee food inspections in a complex division of labor. The new standards will now require that egg producers test regularly for salmonella and buy chicks from suppliers who do the same.

Steps also will be taken to increase sampling for E. coli at meat processing plants, especially in ground beef. By the end of the month, the FDA will issue guidance on ways to reduce contamination in the production and distribution of tomatoes, melons and leafy greens.

NRA responds with praise

The National Restaurant Association issued a statement today by executive vice president of Public Affairs Beth Johnson following the Obama Administration's recommendations. "The safety of the food supply continues to be the restaurant industry's number one priority, and we applaud the Obama Administration's leadership in this area. "The emphasis on prevention and the creation of a deputy foods commissioner position within the FDA brings renewed focus to reforming our nation's food safety system. The key findings by the Administration's Food Safety Working Group bring a fresh perspective to the policy discussions and are an important step forward in achieving much needed reform. "We look forward to continuing our work, together with the Administration and members of Congress, in helping forge solutions and supporting bipartisan legislation to strengthen the safety of America's food supply."