| March 16, 2000 | Contact: | HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343 |
Nonetheless, we face new challenges involving food safety as we enter the 21st century. Novel pathogens are emerging. Familiar ones are growing resistant to treatment. Americans eat in restaurants more. Food production and processing are increasingly becoming centralized. And we eat more imported foods, some of which come from across the globe virtually overnight. These changes require strengthened systems of coordination, surveillance, prevention, inspections, research, risk assessment and education.
To ensure the continued safety of our food supply, the Clinton Administration has significantly expanded its investment in ensuring food safety, modernizing our food safety programs to respond better to the challenges created by the wide variety of foods now available in the United States. As part of this effort, the Clinton Administration has strengthened food safety assurances and has implemented a new Early Warning System to improve our national surveillance system.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC play a key role in our country's food safety system. Together with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and state and local agencies, the FDA and CDC lead rapid responses to outbreaks of foodborne illness, conduct research into the causes and routes of transmission of foodborne illness, and educate health professionals and the public on treatment and prevention of foodborne illness. On December 11, President Clinton unveiled a comprehensive egg safety action plan developed by the President's Council on Food Safety. The plan identifies systems and public health practices in the farm-to-table continuum to reduce eggs as a source of salmonella illness. The goal of the plan is a 50% reduction in egg-associated SE illness by 2005 and an eventual elimination of eggs as a source of SE infection.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) FY 2001 budget includes $149 million for the food safety initiative, an increase of $40 million over FY 2000.
Food Safety Advances Under the Clinton Administration
In 1993, the Vice President's National Performance Review issued a report recommending government and industry move toward a system of preventive controls for food safety. Since 1993, the Clinton Administration has significantly expanded food safety programs, increasing consumer protections to ensure that our food supply remains the safest in the world. Improvements under the Clinton Administration include:
Launching a National Strategy. In 1994, CDC developed and implemented a strategic program to detect, prevent and control emerging infectious disease threats, some of which are foodborne, and it has made significant progress toward these goals each successive year.
Creating a Foodborne Illness Surveillance Network. In 1995, CDC, FDA, USDA and state health departments established the Foodborne Illness Active Surveillance Network, a network of "sentinel" surveillance sites in five states that conducts in-depth surveillance for foodborne illness and related epidemiologic studies. Since becoming operational in 1996, the network already has demonstrated that Campylobacter is the most common cause of foodborne disease and has more precisely determined the burden of foodborne disease. The network has also provided the infrastructure for quickly responding to new and emerging diseases and contributing to the investigation of multi-state outbreaks of Listeriosis associated with hotdogs as well as outbreaks of Salmonella in toasted oat cereal and E.coli O157:H7 in alfalfa sprouts.
Implementing New Hazard Prevention Systems. Building on the recommendations of Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review, President Clinton has put in place new science-based, hazard prevention systems for seafood, meat and poultry. In late 1995, the Clinton Administration issued new rules to ensure seafood safety, which became effective in December 1997 and FDA proposed a regulation in 1998 requiring juice manufacturers to implement hazard prevention systems.
Modernizing Inspections. In July 1996, President Clinton announced new regulations to modernize the nation's meat and poultry inspection system for the first time in 90 years. Overhauling Food Safety Laws. In August 1996, President Clinton signed the Food Quality Protection Act -- a comprehensive overhaul of our laws that regulate pesticides in food. The new law establishes a single, strong health-based standard by using the best science available, and, for the first time, provides Americans with the "right-to-know" about health risks from pesticides.
Ensuring Safe Drinking Water. In August 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Safe Water Drinking Act of 1996, strengthening protections to ensure that American families have clean, safe tap water to drink.
Launching a Comprehensive Food Safety Initiative. To build on previous Administration efforts, President Clinton in January 1997 announced a comprehensive new food safety initiative to help detect and respond to outbreaks of foodborne illness earlier and to give us the data we need to prevent future outbreaks. Key components of this new initiative include:
Building a national Early Warning System. CDC, FDA and USDA are working with state and local agencies to build epidemiologic and laboratory capacity to respond to foodborne diseases. These activities include:
Preliminary data from FoodNet released in the March 17, 2000 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) showed a decline in several of the major causes of foodborne disease in the U.S. The data show a 25 percent decline between 1998 and 1999 in the number of E. coli O157:H7 infections; a 41 percent drop in the incidence of Shigella infections; and a 19 percent decline in the number of illnesses caused by Campylobacter.
Developing new methods for monitoring the food supply. CDC, FDA, USDA and the EPA are working to increase research to develop new tests to detect foodborne pathogens and to assess risks to the food supply. Examples of this research include development of biosensors for bacterial toxins in food, the establishment of gene-based methods for the detection of hepatitis A and other viruses in fruits and vegetables, and new probes to identify Vibrio parahaemolyticus in shellfish.
Strengthening coordination. USDA, CDC, FDA and EPA have formed a new intergovernmental group to improve federal, state and local responses to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. The goal of the group is to improve intergovernmental coordination, use resources more efficiently, and measure progress toward our common goal of reducing foodborne illness.
Improving awareness of safe food practices. On October 24, 1997, HHS, USDA and the Department of Education joined with a coalition of industry, producer and consumer groups to launch "Fight BAC!," one of the most far-reaching and ambitious public education campaigns ever focused on safe food handling. The goal of the campaign has been to educate consumers on the problem of foodborne illness and motivate them to take basic sanitation and food handling steps that will greatly reduce their risk of foodborne illness. The campaign features a television public service announcement, a new educational graphic for food safety and a "Fight BAC!" Web site http://www.fightbac.org.
Increasing the Safety of Fresh Juices. In July 1998, the President announced a new FDA rule requiring warning labels on packaged fresh fruit and vegetable juices that have not been processed to prevent, reduce or eliminate illness-causing microbes. In April 1998, the FDA proposed another regulation requiring juice manufacturers to implement Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point systems, or HACCP. The scientifically designed program identifies steps in food production where contamination is most likely to occur and then puts in place preventative controls.
Improving the Safety of Eggs, Reducing Illness Associated with Salmonella Enteritis (SE). In July 1999, the Administration announced efforts to improve egg safety by requiring that shell eggs be stored at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or below throughout processing and at retail stores and by requiring safe handling statements on shell-egg cartons. According to CDC, approximately 300,000 cases of SE occur each year primarily because of food containing undercooked eggs. It is estimated that these new provisions could prevent up to 66,000 SE-related illnesses and up to 40 SE-related deaths annually.
On December 11, 1999, President Clinton announced a comprehensive action plan to further improve the safety of eggs and reduce the incidence of salmonella illness in the United States. The plan, developed by the President's Council on Food Safety, identifies systems and practices to be implemented at each stage of production from farm-to-table to reduce eggs as a source of human Salmonella Enteriditis (SE) infection. The public health goal of this plan is to cut egg-associated SE illness in half by 2005 and, ultimately, eliminate eggs as a source of SE infection.
President's Council on Food Safety. On August 24, 1998, President Clinton signed an executive order creating a council that will develop a comprehensive strategic plan for federal food safety activities and ensure that federal agencies annually develop coordinated food safety budgets. The Council has three primary functions: (1) Developing a comprehensive strategic food safety plan; (2) Advising agencies of priority areas for investment in food safety and ensuring that federal agencies annually develop coordinated food safety budgets; and (3) Overseeing the recently established Joint Institute for Food Safety Research and ensuring that it addresses the highest priority research needs.
Upgrading Domestic Food Safety Standards. On October 2, 1997, President Clinton announced an initiative to upgrade domestic food safety standards and to ensure that fruits and vegetables coming from overseas are as safe as those produced in the United States. The President asked Congress to enact legislation that will give FDA the authority to halt imports of fruits, vegetables and other food products produced in countries that do not provide the same level of protection as the United States. The legislation -- comparable to existing USDA law governing importation of meat and poultry -- will enable FDA to prevent the importation of potentially unsafe foreign produce.
The President also directed HHS and USDA to work cooperatively with the agricultural community to develop guidance on good agricultural and manufacturing practices for fruits and vegetables. In response to that directive, FDA published a guide in October 1998 for growers, packers and shippers of fresh fruits and vegetables to provide information on agricultural and management practices they might apply to enhance the safety of fresh produce. "Guidance for Industry: Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables" was prepared in consultation with USDA. The guide is intended as voluntary guidance for producers, packers and shippers of fresh produce.
The President also asked the agencies to develop ways to improve monitoring of agricultural and manufacturing processes abroad and to prevent the importation of unsafe produce. Improving the Safety of Imported Foods. In July 1999, President Clinton expanded his Food Safety Initiative by asking HHS and the Department of Treasury to explore actions they could take to protect U.S. consumers from unsafe imported foods.
On December 11, 1999, the President announced the Agencies' plan to prevent unsafe imported food from reaching consumers. The plan is aimed at unscrupulous importers who violate the rules and subvert the system by moving unsafe food into U.S. markets. Actions will include: destroying food that poses a serious public health threat and marking food that has been denied entry for safety reasons.
Improving Meat Safety. On December 2, 1997, FDA approved irradiation of meat products for controlling diseaseícausing microorganisms. The approval applies to fresh and frozen meats such as beef, lamb and pork. This approval is based on FDA's thorough scientific review of a substantial number of studies conducted worldwide on the effects of irradiation on a wide variety of meat products. The studies included examination of the chemical effects of radiation, impact on nutrient content of irradiated products, potential toxicity concerns, and effects on microorganisms in or on irradiated products. FDA concluded that irradiation is safe in reducing diseaseícausing microbes in or on meats, and that it does not compromise the nutritional quality of treated products. FDA has previously approved irradiation of poultry to control pathogens, of pork for control of the trichina parasite, of foods such as fruits, vegetables and grains to control insects, and of spices, seasonings and dry enzymes used in food processing to control microorganisms. Diseaseícausing microorganisms that can be controlled by irradiation include the E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella species.
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