January 4, 1999

Food Safety in FY 2000 Budget Proposal

                            THE WHITE HOUSE
 
                     Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                    January 4, 1999
 
 
 
                 Food Safety in FY 2000 Budget Proposal
 
 
    President Clinton will recommend increasing funds for food safety
by $105 million -- or 12 percent -- in his fiscal 2000 budget proposal.
If enacted, the budget would result in a third year of significant
growth in government efforts to prevent potentially deadly foodborne
illness by putting into place a modern, science-based food safety
system involving improved inspection, surveillance, research, and
education activities.  The new funds are to be shared by the Department
of Agriculture (USDA), which would receive $65 million, and the
Department of Health and Human Services, which would receive $40
million.
 
 
Improving Domestic and International Food Safety Inspections
 
    The President's proposal would significantly expand inspections of
domestic food products.  New funds for the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), which protects the safety of all food products except meat and
poultry, would enable the agency to use more than 60 new inspectors to
inspect, at least once each year, every domestic manufacturer of
high-risk food products (generally, products that are not cooked by
consumers).  Currently, these manufacturers are inspected every three
to four years.  Additional funds for USDA would permit the broad
expansion of its science-based, prevention-oriented meat and poultry
inspection system, called Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
(HACCP), which already has significantly reduced contamination in these
food products.  HACCP is now in effect at the nation's 300 largest meat
and poultry facilities.  USDA would use the proposed new funds to
introduce HACCP at 2,700 smaller plants (those employing 10 to 499
employees), which would mean that 90 percent of all meat and poultry
will be covered.
 
    The President's budget would also increase scrutiny of imported food
products.  Under the proposal, the FDA would more than double the number
of inspections conducted of foreign food processors.  In addition, FDA
technical experts will work with food safety officials abroad to ensure
that their food-growing, processing, and transportation systems meet
high standards for safe production.  The President will also continue
to push Congress to pass legislation enabling the FDA to cut off all
imports from foreign countries whose food safety systems are not
equivalent to those in this country.
 
 
Public Health Research and Surveillance
 
    The President's budget includes a significant component for
surveillance and research activities.  To help officials track pathogens
back to their source and prevent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses from
spreading, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will use new funds to
almost double the number of laboratories that do "DNA fingerprinting"
of foodborne pathogens.  FDA and USDA also will use new funds to expand
research to develop more effective ways of testing for and identifying
dangerous contaminants such as Salmonella and Cyclospora.
 
 
A Record of Accomplishment
 
    The President's proposal builds on a strong record of actions to
ensure that Americans eat the safest possible food.  Last year, the
President proposed a $101 million increase in food-safety funding, more
than $80 million of which was ultimately approved by Congress in the
final budget.  The Administration has put in place improved safety
standards for meat, poultry, and seafood product, and has begun the
process of developing enhanced standards for fruit and vegetable juices.
 
 
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This is a mirror of the White House press release, January 4, 1999, from the <http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/html/briefroom.html> White House Briefing Room.