COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES

The committee held three meetings - on September 22-23, 1994; January 11-13, 1995; and March 29-31, 1995, respectively. The first and third meetings were held in Washington, DC, and the second in San Francisco. One telephone conference call was held in preparation for the third meeting. All meetings were open to the public and recorded in full.

The first meeting included a presentation on the historical overview and chronology of the Dietary Guidelines. The Departments reviewed the criteria that were used in the past to develop the Guidelines, summarized uses of the Guidelines by USDA, and reviewed the charge to the committee. The remainder of the meeting was devoted to presentations and discussions by members on each of the guidelines and related topics. The presentations addressed changes in the science base since the 1990 Guidelines were released, identified key issues for review, and made preliminary recommendations for changes. No attempt was made to reach consensus at the first meeting. The committee members in attendance agreed to undertake revision of the 1990 Dietary Guidelines, discussed plans for future activities related to the Guidelines, and formed working groups to draft each guideline.

At the second meeting, 23 professional associations, health organizations, industry representatives, and interested citizens presented comments at a public hearing and then responded to comments and questions from the committee. The committee discussed the first version of each draft guideline in light of current literature, expert testimony, public comments, and committee comments. Part of the meeting was devoted to a review and discussion of guidelines redrafted by working groups. The meeting concluded with a discussion of the introductory section and issues related to the format of the Dietary Guidelines.

At the third meeting, the committee reviewed and edited several drafts of each guideline and discussed issues related to the report to the Secretaries. Graphic design staff from HHS and USDA presented potential layouts for the bulletin.