Release No. 0044.00 Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue Remarks As Prepared for Delivery by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue Washington, D.C. February 10, 2000 "Thank you Mr. Cohen (Felix, Director of Consumentbond). I also want to thank Commissioner Byrne. I want to thank the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue for inviting me here today. "With me today from USDA is Cathie Woteki, Under Secretary for Food Safety who has worked tirelessly to ensure that USDA's food safety regime evolves alongside the ever-changing nature of food production and consumption ... Caren Wilcox, our tireless Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety who is our primary contact with the TACD (TACK-DEE) food group ... Isi Siddiqui, my Senior Advisor on Trade, and Eric Olsen, my Senior Advisor on Domestic Policy, both of whom have been with me at the forefront of many difficult issues. I must testify before the Senate this morning, but they will remain in my absence to answer your questions. "In the last half of the 20th century, we witnessed the emergence of three trends that had a profound influence on everyday life increased consumption by consumers, the exponential rise in international trade and the rapid advancement of science and technology. "A century that began in relative isolationism ended with newly opened borders, increased communications and crumbling trade barriers. The Berlin Wall has fallen and democracy is flourishing. We are on our way to more trade with the world's largest, and what was once one of the world's most closed nations China. "The world is becoming increasingly interconnected. Both the demand for, and the movement of goods and services around the world are influencing daily decisions on the consumer level as well as the business level. What a farmer plants, what a homemaker buys, or where a CEO builds a new factory, are all being driven by consumerism and the rise of trade. "It's so important that the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue brings together consumers from two different continents so that we may learn from each other's experiences. The dialogue recognizes that the emergence of the global economy takes international relations to the next level to international interdependence. "It's no secret that people grouse about their governments no matter what country they're in. It's part of the process, but there are certain things people have come to expect of their government. The fact is, in the United States, people have come to trust their government when it comes to issues of their safety and security. The American people look to their government to protect them in ways they cannot protect themselves -- whether it comes to the banks that hold their life savings, the airlines that fly millions each day, the prescription medicines they take, the safety of their cars and highways, and more. "As policymakers we in American government recognize that everything we do is derived from the will of the people. It is the foundation of our democracy. It is a sacred trust, one that must be guarded and never taken for granted. That is why the regulatory systems we put in place must be open, subject to public scrutiny and, ultimately, public approval. That is why we must insist on objective, strong, scientific standards in the regulations and oversight procedures we set up involving public health, safety and security, "At USDA we are a very consumer-oriented department. Abraham Lincoln called us the "people's department" -- a name we try to live up to every day. We are the nutrition department, setting the standards for a healthy diet. We're in charge of the nutrition safety net, administering Food Stamps, the Women, Infants and Children's Program and the School Meals Program. As the department of rural America we serve America's country communities, ensuring adequate housing, utilities, clean water, economic development and more. We're at the forefront of the President's initiative to close the digital divide by bringing education and medical services to remote communities over the Internet. "And, of vital importance in this rapidly changing economy, at USDA we house three of the six federal agencies that share the responsibility for ensuring the continued safety of the nation's food supply -- the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Agricultural Research Service and the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. They along with the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control comprise the federal government's comprehensive food safety effort. "I would like to talk about our food safety system as an example of government agencies working with and responding to consumer needs. "The current food safety program, that these six agencies maintain, evolved over nearly 100 years of growth, development and experimentation. In the early 1900s the American people let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply would henceforth be a major federal government priority. "As the world has changed, as population has grown, as trade has increased, as we have become aware of new foodborne pathogens, so has our food safety system matured. We are continuously adapting to meet the food safety challenges of an industry that produces and markets 400 billion pounds of food each year. "For example, we have just completed implementation of a new, science- based meat and poultry inspection program, HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System. "HACCP was originally developed for NASA as a state-of-the-art monitoring and inspection system to ensure that the food being sent into orbit with our astronauts was free of pathogens. "But to bring the program to the general public required extensive review. In the United States we require government agencies to be open and accessible to the consuming public. "So, before implementing the HACCP program we had over 35 public meetings -- some of which I chaired with consumers, industry and producer groups. These were open, public meeting that anyone could attend. As the rule took shape, we wanted to ensure that the public was involved every step of the way, that the process was completely transparent and that the resulting program was one the public would be confident in. "Designed as a science-based system to test for and reduce levels of harmful bacteria, in its first full year of operation HACCP made a profound difference in reducing foodborne pathogens. Compared to surveys taken before HACCP came on line, the prevalence of salmonella found in meat and poultry plants has gone down considerably -- for hogs and ground turkey, over 25% for ground beef, over 1/3 -- and for poultry the reduction is nearly 50%. This is a major improvement in public health protection. And I think that's worth repeating. HACCP has reduced the incidence of contamination by 25% for hogs and ground turkey, over 1/3 for ground beef, and nearly 50% for poultry. This in turn has helped to reduce foodborne illness across the country. "In 1997, President Clinton set the nation on a course to strengthen the nation's food safety system. The President's Food Safety Initiative is already bearing fruit -- enhancing surveillance of foodborne disease, developing a better coordinated response to outbreaks, working with industry to strengthen education and training, revising science-based regulations, and targeting new research. This Administration is building a new national early warning system to detect and respond to outbreaks of foodborne illness early and to provide information to help prevent future outbreaks. We have a comprehensive campaign to inform consumers about the latest safe food handling and cooking standards. "Continuing to invest in research is critical to maintaining a modern food safety system. We must develop rapid tests for bacteria like salmonella, cryptosporidium and E-coli. We must learn more about how and why pathogens become resistant to efforts to control their growth. We're working on new methods for preventing, controlling and eliminating these deadly microbes. And we need to continue to monitor for chemical and physical hazards in our food supply. "As well-developed, as strong, and as scientific as our food safety system is, we cannot rest. Make no mistake about it, these pathogens are stubborn and resourceful. That is why we have a complete farm to table approach in dealing with food safety. We must be in constant motion, continually upgrading, researching and providing the flexibility to meet new challenges that food production will offer. By ensuring the highest food safety standards at every link in the food chain, we can reduce people's exposure to foodborne pathogens. "It is with this comprehensive food safety regime in mind, that I would like to veer off for a moment and talk about an issue that is very topical for the EU right now using precaution as a an approach in the approval process. " I understand that the European Union has to face the major task of coordinating food safety among its many member nations. I welcome the steps the EU is taking toward a unified comprehensive food safety process. As I've said, our food safety systems have been developed for over a century, are based on strict scientific standards, include precaution in evaluating the safety of foods, and have served our nation quite well. I also welcome the EU's assurance that their application of the precautionary strategies will not be used as an artificial trade barrier. And, as the dialogue among EU member states continues, I look forward to seeing the details of how the precautionary measures will be applied. "Before closing, I'd like to say a word about biotechnology. I'm of the belief that biotechnology can be an indispensable tool in meeting growing global agricultural demand while lessening the strain on our precious natural resources. It can also help farmers produce a new generation of specialty products, to meet future consumer demand. "But regardless of biotechnology's potential, the consuming public, the private sector, the academic community, the farm community and those of us in government cannot be science's blind servants. None of us should be afraid to ask the difficult questions. All of us have to understand ethical, safety and environmental implications of biotechnology. Our testing has to be rigorous. We have to be as vigilant as ever. And we have to make sure that those involved in determining the safety of genetically-engineered products are independent from the people who stand to profit from them. "The regulatory procedures we have in place are not only meeting the challenges of biotechnology, but we are adapting them to grow and develop with this new technology. In order to keep pace with the rapidly changing developments of such a relatively new science is one of the reasons I recently appointed a biotechnology advisory committee, and why I asked the National Academy of Sciences to create a standing biotechnology committee and to do an independent review of our approval process. Because we want to ensure that the regulatory processes we rely on to protect public health and the environment are state-of-the-art. "The health, safety and security of the American people depend on our vigilance. Food safety is but one example of the kind of comprehensive oversight and regulation that the American people expect when it comes to their safety. Procedures that have evolved over time, that withstand rigorous testing, that are rooted in proven scientific principles and that put the people first. "It has often been said the consumer is king and queen. I believe that is mostly a marketing reference -- referring to the success of a product based on consumer acceptance. And what we've seen in recent years is that consumer acceptance also has a lot to do with safety for example in food, autos or bank accounts. So whether or not government and industry are performing up to public expectations will, in the end, be determined by the consumer at the check-out counter, and, as evidenced by the evolution of globalization, that check-out counter might be anywhere in the world. " Thank you".