National Federal-state Food Safety Conference Release No. 0069.99 Remarks As Prepared for Delivery by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman National Federal-State Food Safety Conference Washington, D.C. February 23, 1999 "Thank you, Cathie [Woteki]. It always helps to have somebody who works for you introduce you. I see a lot of familiar faces folks I've worked with for some time folks I met at the NASDA conference yesterday. These are tough times for agriculture, and we all are working hard to help see farmers and ranchers through to more prosperous days. After many years in this job and as a Congressman representing an agricultural district, I know that food safety is an important part of this picture. Safe food sells. The more we improve the world's safest food supply, the more value we add to U.S. agriculture and the greater the contribution we make to the public health. "I've been in this job almost four years. Before that, I was a Congressman from Kansas, where I lived and breathed wheat and cattle. After 18 years of that, I was prepared for all the questions I get in this job about grain exports and cattle prices. But I was a little surprised that these questions ran second to the ones I field most. No matter where I am, people come up to me and ask: 'How do I cook a hamburger right? When do I know my Thanksgiving turkey is done? How can I be sure?' "I was at a charity dinner a couple years back where Cokie Roberts of ABC News was the emcee. When she introduced me after the meal, she got up and said she watched me eat the whole time, and everything I ate, she ate, because she knew it would be safe. Now, that's a risky strategy. You could gain a few pounds. But it goes to show that food safety is an issue that hits home with everyone. This issue touches each of us no matter who we are in a very direct way. "In doing so, it gives government an opportunity to do what it does best. Many of you took an airplane to be here. Very few people question government's duty to ensure the planes we fly in our safe. No one objects to government's role ensuring that if a bank sinks, our life savings don't go down with the ship. As our country takes steps to protect us from threats of terrorism, I don't know of a single person who would stand up and cry 'pork.' The same is true of the food on our plate. We want our government to protect us in ways that we cannot protect ourselves. "And, when I say 'the government,' by no means do I refer solely to the Department of Agriculture. One thing I've learned from the breadth of questions I field is that people don't care if it's USDA or FDA; they don't care if it's a federal meat inspector or a state public health inspector; they just want their government to do its job and do it well. "From the Pacific Northwest outbreak that took place right when the President took office to the recent tragic Listeriosis outbreak, this Administration has taken the issue of food safety very personally. We have sought through greater investments in research, more modern, science-based inspections, state-of-the art DNA fingerprinting and surveillance to turn the tables on food-borne illness. We are well on our way to achieving that goal -- thanks to our work, to the strong backing of American families and to a strong, growing partnership with all of you. "Whether visiting Dr. Kobayashi and his team in Washington State who stopped the Pacific Northwest Outbreak or talking to professors at Tennessee State about their food safety research or hearing about the state public health folks who worked around the clock to help us stop the Listeria outbreak, I am regularly reminded that this Administration is hardly alone in its work. Everyone in this room works on food safety every day. So, as I work toward the President's goal of a 'seamless' food safety system, I know that I need you to work with me to cast aside the local/state/federal turf battles that mean nothing to that parent watching their child eat dinner. "This is the first conference of its kind bringing together the top people at the federal and state level who are responsible for food safety. On the one hand, I am surprised it's taken this long. It seems so obvious. On the other hand, I am proud that this gathering takes place on my watch. And, I know that I and all of my food safety colleagues at USDA are proud to play host today. USDA ACCOMPLISHMENTS "From the money we spend every year, to the seven USDA agencies that are involved with food safety issues, to the wide range of our work -- from research to risk assessment to surveillance to education to inspections -- USDA is the largest government food safety entity in the world. "Look at other parts of the world. Remember last year's bird-flu epidemic in Hong Kong, where they killed all the chickens? Afterwards, consumers in that country cut their poultry purchases in half. In post-mad cow Europe, beef sales plummeted by 40%. We don't see those kinds of extreme market reactions here. And, that tells me that all of us are doing something right because consumers here by and large have confidence in their food supply, and they have confidence in us, that we are putting their safety first. That's an important statement about our public health commitment at the state and federal levels and, I am utterly convinced, it is a statement that U.S. agriculture can take to the bank. "And, the news is getting better. Last year, HACCP, our revolutionary new, science-based meat and poultry inspection system, debuted in the larger plants. In HACCP's first nine months, we've seen more than a 40% drop in salmonella in ground beef. We now are phasing the system in at smaller plants. Our focus there is on ensuring compliance so we maintain one strong standard while helping companies succeed with their transition. So we are working closely with the plants. "USDA has come a long way since the 1994 reorganization which pulled our food safety duties out of the marketing arena where there was at least an appearance of conflict of interest. Now, we have a separate, independent food safety agency run by America's first and only Undersecretary for Food Safety who is at USDA. We've also dramatically expanded our food safety research agenda going after problem pathogens that affect the entire range of foods from meats and poultry to fruits and vegetables. When this Administration came in, you would rarely hear the word public health uttered at USDA. Now, we have an Office of Public Health and Science, within our food safety mission, which is headed by some of the top food safety and public health experts in the world. These changes make a tremendous difference as we shift to a more science-based approach. LISTERIA "Our response to the Listeriosis outbreak is just the most recent example of science and greater coordination protecting people and saving lives. This was a terrible tragedy that occurred across 19 states. The individual doctors treating the victims had little chance of connecting the dots across such a wide area and recognizing the outbreak. Fortunately, through the Pulsenet system which USDA helped build, these doctors could give samples from their hospital to their state health office and from there, the data enters a nationwide surveillance system which verified the match and alerted us that these illnesses were coming from the same culprit bacteria. Good scientific investigating tracked that bacteria to its source, the company conducted a recall, and we saw a dramatic drop-off in illnesses. "We all want to reach the day when there are zero illnesses, a day when we achieve our ultimate goal of total prevention, and no family has to go through what the families of these victims have been through. But we are not there yet. We at USDA are working very hard, alongside many of you, to explore what more can be done to combat Listeria. I hope we also heed what the experts are telling us -- that without the strong coordination among the various public health authorities that we had in recent weeks, and without this national surveillance network that this President worked so hard to expand, we would likely still have an outbreak on our hands. We would not have been able to pinpoint its source, and lives would have remained at risk. USDA/STATE/FEDERAL COOPERATION "But we know that we alone cannot overcome today's significant challenges: new, more virulent pathogens; old pathogens finding their way onto new foods; consolidation in agriculture leading to more food being processed in one place and then shipped across the country making it harder to pull suspect food back or even to identify a problem that's so geographically dispersed; people eating more meals away from home; folks eating more imported foods, particularly produce, and a growing senior population whose immune systems are more vulnerable. "Food can be contaminated at any point from farm to table, and it becomes crystal clear that we need our respective strengths, resources and people power working together to create a seal of safety for consumers that covers every kind of food. "Greater coordination is how we achieve a seamless food safety system, and that is the ultimate goal of the President's Council on Food Safety which he created last year. It charges me and Secretary Shalala, and Dr. Neal Lane, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, to develop a unified strategy for achieving food safety at the federal level, and in coordination with the states covering everything from our respective budgets to research. "One small way we are improving coordination at the federal level is through a new Memorandum of Understanding that formalizes the working relationship between FDA and USDA inspectors. Sometimes we work in the same plants, inspecting the different products that fall under our purviews. This MOU ensures that our inspectors if they see a potential problem that does not affect 'their food' -- make sure the right person is informed. "We also have a new coalition that's come together to work on interstate shipment issues. Right now, state-inspected meat is forbidden by law from shipping across state lines. Historically, this has been a thorny issue. Some folks thought it would never work out. Well, I'll have you know that USDA is in the final stages of clearing legislation -- which we hope can be considered during this Congress to free up interstate shipments. And, I'll have you know that in this year's budget, we've asked for money to help state labs upgrade their inspection technology, so as many states as possible are in a position to take advantage of this breakthrough. "Another issue we are working on with all of you is the Food Code that helps ensure that the best science is behind the various state regulations regarding restaurant food safety. I know that Secretary Shalala is going to talk later today about this issue. It's one more way we can give consumers peace of mind, no matter who is responsible for any one aspect of food safety. "Some look at all of this work and see a hodge-podge of food safety efforts. But the fact is we at USDA are in daily collaboration with state, local and federal agencies We have a Joint Institute for Food Safety Research which is working between federal agencies, with the land-grant universities and others to develop a coordinated food safety research strategy to ensure that every federal research dollar is put to its best possible use We've more than quadrupled our food safety education budget in the past two years ... USDA provides over $40 million to the 26 states who run their own inspection efforts covering half of their costs We are working on partnerships with state veterinarians to develop and encourage producers to adopt voluntarily on-farm practices that promote food safety We helped create FORC-G, a team of federal and state food safety experts who respond to outbreaks quickly, effectively, and as one team. "So whether it's these issues, or transportation or retail issues, we are working more closely together, and I believe we are starting to see dividends. It's my hope that we can continue down this path -- making the best strategic use of our resources, building on our various strengths and going forward as equal partners. I hope that this conference can serve as an important step in the right direction, strengthening our farm economy and helping us deliver safer food to Americans and people around the world. Thank you." ###