U. S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

CFSAN Priority-Setting Meeting

Common Themes

On June 24 and 25, 1998, the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) held a public meeting to solicit input on establishment of program priorities. Dr. Michael A. Friedman, Acting FDA Commissioner, opened the meeting and provided an agencywide perspective on establishment of program priorities. Joseph A. Levitt, CFSAN Director, spoke about the decline of resources in the Center since 1978, the year in which resources were at a peak, and the increase in statutory responsibilities during that same time. Accordingly, given the gap between resource availability and reasonable work product expectations, Mr. Levitt stated there was a clear need to set program priorities. Mr. Levitt emphasized that the priority-setting process needed to be open and participatory. Throughout the process, he stressed the importance of keeping focused on where we do the most good for consumers.

Oral comments were received at the two-day meeting from individuals representing 23 organizations. In addition, the public docket (98N-0359) remained open after the meeting for the submission of written comments. In all, the Center received input from a total of 38 individuals representing consumers and consumer groups; states and state officials; food, produce, and cosmetic trade associations; food and color additive associations; health professional organizations; the dietary supplement and infant formula industries; food technologists; a food packaging company; and a food manufacturing company. Documents summarizing both the oral presentations and written submissions are available on CFSAN's web page (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov).

With respect to priorities, four program issues were commonly identified by respondents:

1. Food Safety Initiative: Universal recognition of, and support for, implementation of the President's Food Safety Initiative (FSI) as the Center's top priority. This included endorsement of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems -- specifically, the final rule for seafood HACCP; the pilot program for HACCP in retail settings; and possible expansion of HACCP to address identifiable hazards in the food supply when supported by the science.

2. Food Additives: The need to reform the food additive approval process to reduce the inventory of pending petitions and to increase the timeliness of high quality petition reviews.

3. International Harmonization: The need for CFSAN to play a leadership role in international harmonization, particularly through continued participation and leadership in the development of international food safety standards by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

4. Science Base: The need for the Center's science base to be maintained at the highest level to be certain that regulatory decisions have adequate scientific underpinning.

Other areas of interest expressed by several respondents include the following:

• Cooperation with States: The need to work closely with state food regulatory programs in order to leverage resources and expand the scope of consumer protection.

• Food Standards: The need to give a high priority to continued maintenance and administration of the food standards program, including modernizing/updating existing standards.

• Food Safety Educational Efforts: The need for greater and more effective food safety educational efforts was noted, particularly efforts aimed at consumers and food workers in retail settings.

• Consumer Deception: The need to give a high priority to enforcement activities that address consumer deception, particularly deceptive labeling claims and economic fraud.

• Specialized Areas: The need to give adequate attention to such specialized areas as dietary supplements, infant formulas, cosmetics, the Interstate Travel Program, molluscan shellfish, the cooperative program for milk, medical foods, threshold of regulation determinations for food packaging, and certificates of free sale.

Finally, many commenters stated that CFSAN needs additional resources to implement the breadth of its statutory responsibilities and urged FDA to seek the necessary funding from the Congress.

The Center will incorporate input on program priorities gleaned from the public meeting and the written docket as it proceeds with its FY 99 Planning Process.

Dear (see addressees below):

Thank you for participating in the Center's June 24 - 25 priority-setting meeting. I was very pleased with both the quantity and quality of input we received on CFSAN program priorities. We are currently incorporating the input into our Fiscal Year 1999 Planning Process. The goal of the Planning Process is to establish program priorities and to allocate resources consistent with those priorities, by October 1, the beginning of fiscal year 1999. You can expect to hear more about Center priorities later this fall.

As I noted during the meeting, summaries of both the oral presentations and the written submissions to the public docket are available on the Center's web page (www.cfsan.fda.gov). In addition, enclosed with this letter is a summary of program issues and areas of interest that were commonly identified by respondents for top Center priority.

Thank you again for participating in the public meeting.

Addresses

Joseph Corby
President
Association of Food and Drug Officials
P.O. Box 3425
York, PA 17402

Ken Moore
Executive Director
Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference
115 Atrium Way, Suite 117
Columbia, South Carolina 29201

Bob Garfield
Vice President, Regulatory and Technical Affairs
American Frozen Food Institute
2000 Corporate Ridge, Suite 1000
McLean, Virginia 22102

Steve Ziller
Vice President for Scientific and Regulatory Affairs
Grocery Manufacturers of America
1010 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007

Robert Collette
Director of Food Regualtory Affairs
National Fisheries Institute
1901 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22209

Michael Jacobson, Ph.D.
Center for Science in the Public Interest
1875 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20009

Nancy Zeman
Enzyme Technical Association
1900 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.20006

Richard Cristol
Calorie Control Council Suite 500-G
5775 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30342

Pamela Graves-Moore
Director, Government Affairs
Monsanto
600 13^th Street, N.W., Suite 660
Washington, D.C. 20005

E. Edward Kavanaugh
President
The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association
1101 17^th Street, N.W., Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20036-4702

Penni Jones
Winnie Baden
Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors
1220 W. Northwest Highway
Palatine, IL 60067

Cary Frye
International Dairy Food Association
1250 H Street, N.W., Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20005

Joel Simpson
In Flight Food Service Association
JFK International Airport
Building 146
Jamaica, New York 11430

Nancy Snyder
International Sprout Growers Association
P.O. Box 2214
Amherst, MA 01004

Dr. Annette Dickinson
Council for Responsible Nutrition
1300 19^th Street, N.W., Suite 310
Washington, D.C. 20036-1628

Charlene Rainey
Nutrition Network, Inc.

Michael Ford
National Nutritional Foods Association
3931 McAuther Blvd., Suite 101
Newport Beach, CA 92660 - 3021

John Cady
President and Chief Executive Officer
National Food Processors Association
1401 New York Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005

Mr. Heckman
Society of Plastics Industries, Inc.
1801 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006

Paul Weller
Apple Processors Association
1723 V Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009

Carole Johnson
American Heart Association
5335 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20015

Tracey Fox
American Dietetic Association
Division of Government Affairs
1225 Eye Street, N.W., #1250
Washington, D.C. 20005

Tom Higgins
Manager Regulatory Affairs
Viskase Corporation
6855 West 65^th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60638

Meeting Transcripts and Meeting Summary

FDA Modernization Act