Press Office
Food and Drug Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS         Arthur Whitmore:     202-205-4144
May 14, 1998                    
                               Bernice Friedlander: 202-260-8744

FDA TO HOLD MEETINGS ON PRODUCE SAFETY

The Food and Drug Administration will hold three public meetings in Washington, D.C., Miami and San Diego, in conjunction with President Clinton's Food Safety Initiative to discuss a newly proposed guidance to ensure the safety of imported and domestic fruits and vegetables.

The meetings will include a review of the President's initiative and a recently proposed draft guide developed to minimize the risk of food-borne illness from pathogens on fruits and vegetables. Each meeting will discuss both domestic and international aspects of the initiative.

The all-day sessions will include a section-by-section review of the guide, a discussion of good agricultural practices in the global context, a panel on foreign technical cooperation, practices involved in tracing back the origin of suspicious or tainted fruits or vegetables, and questions and statements from the public. Experts from the FDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of State, industry, and state departments of agriculture and public health will participate.

This is the latest in a series of public discussions designed to assist the agency as it develops final guidance to be published later in the year.

PUBLIC MEETINGS:

Tuesday, May 19, 10 a.m. WASHINGTON, DC: Department of Health and Human Services, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, room #800, 200 Independence Avenue, SW. Contact: Marilyn Veek, Office of International Affairs, 301-827-0906.

Thursday, May 21, 10 a.m. MIAMI, FL: Miami Dade County Cooperative Extension Service Agriculture Center, 18710 SW 288th Street, Homestead, FL. Contact: Estela Niella-Brown, FDA, Miami, 305-526-2800, ext. 930.

Wednesday, May 27, 10 a.m., SAN DIEGO, CA: Malcolm X Branch Library, Multipurpose Room, 5148 Market Street, San Diego. Contact: Rosario Quintanilla Vior, FDA, 714-798-7607.

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