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Food & Drug, Alcohol & Tobacco 



Roll Call Policy Briefing No. 56 • June 7, 1993 



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Top Policy Concern? It's Now Food Safety 



By David Kcsstcr we wcrcdoing il2f'ycarsapo — orevcntcn In Oie (a* 



KecenUy. I read a survev conduaed hy years ago Wc need lo recof^nue tliai \tic ducuonanO 



he Insuiuie of I u>d Technologisus Oiai food mdustn has changed MgmfKranih. crsaskave 



chcr^tohsi and Uiaiconsumpuonpaiicms have, loo uon h die 



r IWi The Increasingly, oie /Vnencan consumer i-. Andanv 



J Labeling relying on foods produced in high-tech, ask me Wh 



I would disagree widi thai a.s«cssinen( crntralized processing faaliiies. shipped lis not tJ 



Lcruinly. food laheling has demanded oser long distances, and packaged and assuramcs 



f these changes in the pro- We must lake the broad 

 isumpuonof food.consum- or fishery to the dinner 

 .imple and tegiumate qucs- foreign processing plant t 



The 



i coming into this 



I uurk lo tv prepared I 





ipanding rapidly Andmoreand 7"/)e FDA Commissioner inspect foreign plants unless we arc uiviied 



he food thai we eat originates . . , *_*_*• to do so 



- more than one m,lhon unpon ^^Y^ ^^^ P'^^^ ^O Start IS we mspea domesuc food processing 



icw label, the policies are largely in place cntnes a yeai and growing iv/t/) 3 program of faolities.buitheioolswehavcgiveusonly 



ur%cx, I would havr named food safety as public health problem But it appears to be f^^^oatory preventive jg^i^y ^^^ ^ inspectors are present It 



tKnun.i-^er-oneissuethatwillocajpyfeder ontbcnse New pathogens have appeared COntrols for the docsiKHdcpictwhaiwcntonbeforeorwhat 



J policyTiiakers over the next several years There is more opponunity for food lo be caafnnH InHii^trv will goooaficr. And if wcareinaplant only 



Those \* hocloselv obserke the food scene coniaminated than in the past because food ^^^^^^^^^^^^T^^^^^^ once every few years, we will never get the 



^ould shair one central obscr-auon The today is more entcnsivclv piocessed. ban- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ enure piaure 



•-av we produce food, distnbuie il and con- died at more steps between the farm or ensure that food is as safe as we can possi- The history of food safety regulation is 



: It — a system that is responsive lo filled with government watchdogs chasing 



r expectauons current system places too much of the bur- 



;ihe the only problem We still have to address Whatarc the elcmenisof such a system^ den on the taxpayc to find piiahicms 



1 wholesomeness of the US food the ongoing, unsolved problems associated Cenamly.it is no longer enough to think And the FDA's 



:. and transponcd to and 



4 safety system were put u 



; resulung 



each step tn the producuon of food as a self- overwbehiuDg a 



