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The Food Safety Working Group is recommending a new, public health-focused approach to food safety based on three core principles:
Food Safety Working Group: Key Findings
President Barack Obama
March 14, 2009 OverviewAmericans count on the safety of their food. Whether enjoying fruits and vegetables, grilling meat at a barbecue or packing our children's lunches for school, we expect quality and nutritional value without having to worry about whether food has been handled properly or whether it contains bacteria or viruses that can make us sick. Yet all too often, outbreaks of foodborne illness still threaten the health of Americans. While the American food safety system is among the best in the world, batches of ground beef, peppers, peanut butter, pistachios, spinach, and even cookie dough have been associated with serious disease in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported some discouraging news: according to preliminary data from 2008, a long-term decline in foodborne illness appears to be stalling. The agency concluded that "the lack of recent progress points to gaps in the current food safety system and the need to continue to develop and evaluate food safety practices as food moves from the farm to the table."1 It is estimated that one in four Americans suffers from a foodborne illness each year. President Barack Obama recognizes the importance of food safety to Americans. He created a Food Safety Working Group to coordinate Federal efforts and develop short- and long-term agendas to make food safer. He has urged Congress to modernize our food safety laws for both the Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety and Inspection Service. And he has asked for public input from around the country, seeking fresh ideas for food safety. In the coming months, at President Obama's direction, the U.S. government will take long overdue action to protect American families from foodborne illness. This action includes new rules and standards to reduce dangerous infections caused by Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7, better approaches to outbreak response, and vastly improved Federal coordination of food safety efforts. Together, these initial efforts represent a down payment on a stronger food safety system that will deliver greater value, more thoroughly prevent illnesses and more effectively promote the health and well-being of the American people. 1Preliminary FoodNet Data on the Incidence of Infection with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly
Through Food --- 10 States, 2008, MMWR 58(13): 333-337, April 10, 2009.
The Challenge of Ensuring a Safe Food SupplyOver the last decade, a perfect storm has gathered to challenge our food safety system. The storm includes new disease agents; an increasingly globalized food supply chain; changes in the U.S. population; and new dietary patterns. The world increasingly recognizes the growing threat of intentional contamination. When bad actors in China's food industry deliberately added melamine to ingredients in a wide range of food products, they threatened the health of millions of men, women, and children. Most tragically, six babies in China died from kidney failure caused by melamine-contaminated infant formula. A new food safety system requires the scientific expertise to identify risks before they harm Americans. Modern food conveniences also create new challenges for safety. The United States imports food from more than 150 different countries through more than 300 ports of entry. About half of fresh fruits eaten in America are grown outside of the country; these imports allow us to enjoy our favorite produce year-round. More than three-quarters of our seafood comes from non-U.S. waters. Trade in food is critical to our diet and permits our farmers and other food producers to sell their goods abroad. Yet it also means that real progress in food safety requires renewed attention to the global food supply. Changes in the U.S. population and in our eating behaviors increase the urgency of food safety reform. By 2015, it is estimated that one in five Americans will be over the age of 60 and therefore more susceptible to certain types of infections. As more Americans live longer with chronic illness, including cancer and diabetes, our vulnerability will increase further. At the same time, approximately 50 cents of every food dollar is now spent on food prepared outside the home in restaurants, vending machines, movie theaters, and schools. This development has many consequences for food safety, such as the need to ensure adequate training for food service workers across the country and to consider the potential widespread impact of deliberate tampering with the food supply. Taken together, these important trends mean that a modern food safety system must do more than rely on a fixed set of rules and regulations. The United States needs a flexible and coordinated approach to ensure the safety of the food supply, able to evolve as quickly as do the threats to the food supply. Unfortunately, the nation's food safety system is anything but flexible and coordinated. Our system is hamstrung by outdated laws, insufficient resources, suboptimal management structures, and poor coordination across agencies and with States and localities. At least a dozen Federal agencies, implementing at least 30 different laws, have roles in overseeing the safety of the nation's food supply. This approach was not rationally designed. Rather, it developed in fits and starts as the nation's attention turned to one crisis after another. Building a new system will require recognizing the critical importance of a closely coordinated system. The President's Food Safety Working GroupOn March 14, 2009, President Barack Obama announced the creation of a new Food Safety Working Group to advise him on how to upgrade U.S. food safety laws for the 21st century, foster coordination of food safety efforts throughout the government, and ensure laws are being adequately enforced to keep the American people safe from foodborne illness. The Working Group is chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Participating agencies include the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, the Environmental Protection Agency, and several offices of the White House. To gather input from all corners of the country, the Working Group held a public Listening Day on May 13, 2009, with extensive participation by States and localities, the food industry, consumer advocates, and other experts. The Working Group also created a website, www.foodsafetyworkinggroup.gov, which offers the opportunity for any member of the public to submit comments. On July 1, 2009, the Working Group submitted its general principles to the President. The Working Group identified three core food safety principles to guide the development of a modern, coordinated food safety system.
Delivering ResultsThe recommendations of the Working Group apply these principles to the current food safety system, taking on long-standing challenges while seeking to ensure that we build on past success. At the President's direction, agencies are starting immediately to implement long-overdue actions to improve the safety of the U.S. food supply. The following are some key Executive Branch actions that will help achieve these goals: Salmonella Salmonella bacteria cause an estimated 1.3 million illnesses each year in the United States — including fever, diarrhea, and even death. The CDC has found that Salmonella is the most common bacterial cause of foodborne illness. Two Federal agencies are now making progress to reduce illness caused by Salmonella.
E. coli O157:H7 The bacterial strain called E. coli O157:H7 causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever in approximately 70,000 Americans each year. In an estimated one in 15 patients, a frightening complication called Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome develops. Patients with this complication can suffer intense pain, high blood pressure, kidney failure, and even death. In recent years, this bacterium has caused outbreaks associated with meat and spinach.
National Traceback and Response System When people begin to fall ill after an outbreak occurs, time is of the essence. A system that permits rapid traceback to the source will protect consumers and help industry recover faster. Yet despite the dedicated efforts of food safety officials across the country, our current capacity to traceback the sources of illness suffers from serious limitations. Public and private sector officials often lack information about the sources of foods or ingredients, making the traceback process more cumbersome and leading to less-accurately targeted recalls. In addition, multiple Federal, State, and local agencies all play essential roles in managing outbreaks but lack a unified structure or adequate provisions for sharing data in an emergency. These limitations make it essential for Federal agencies to improve the traceability of food and the response to outbreaks of foodborne illness.
Improved Organization of Federal Food Safety Responsibilities Effective organization is essential to the performance of the food safety system. To build a more effective safety system, federal agencies need to improve management of their food safety responsibilities and coordinate more effectively with each other.
ConclusionA safer food supply is an important national priority. Safer food means healthier children, longer lives, less costly healthcare, and a more resilient food industry. Federal leadership, along with strong cooperation from the public and private sectors, can achieve real progress for American consumers. |
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