REMARKS BY GLICKMAN BEFORE THE POULTRY AND EGG ASSOCIATION Releases No. 0027.99 REMARKS OF SECRETARY DAN GLICKMAN POULTRY AND EGG ASSOCIATION VIA SATELLITE JANUARY 21, 1999 Thank you Delvin (Barrett, Chairman) for that introduction. I want to thank the Poultry and Egg Association for inviting me to speak to you today. I apologize that it has to be from so far away. But I'm leaving in a few hours for Berlin and from there it's on to Moscow. I know how important the Russian market is to America's poultry producers. The recent economic crisis in Russia has devastated one of your most important export markets which has contributed to a weakening of prices. While in Moscow I will be meeting with top Russian officials to find ways to re-ignite the flow of poultry to Russia from the United States. As you can see from your own experience, trade is of vital importance to American agriculture. The fact is that U.S. agriculture cannot survive without free access to world markets. In his State of the Union message President Clinton called for a "freer and fairer trading system for 21st century America." He said, "We ought to tear down barriers, open markets, and expand trade." But he cautioned, "We must insist that international trade organizations be more open to public scrutiny." I know you are all concerned about Mexico's recent announcement regarding Avian Influenza which could adversely affect U.S. poultry trade with our southern neighbor. I want you to know that we are in discussions with Mexican officials and that they have delayed going forward with their plan in order to give us more time to respond. While we do want to mitigate Mexico's concerns about contaminated poultry, we want to make certain that all decisions are made on the basis of sound science. We have assured Mexican officials that U.S. poultry producers take extreme care in protecting their birds from any infestation that could harm their ability to market their product. I want you also to know that the officials we are talking to remain open and receptive. They are listening to what we have to say. They are reviewing the materials we've presented to them. And I remain confident that we will be able to resolve this situation to the mutual satisfaction of both Mexico and the United States. There will always be challenges like these that we must face. There will always be disputes to resolve or crises to manage, but generally speaking I remain positive about the long-term outlook for poultry. In fact, in this country chicken is more popular than ever. In just two years our nation has seen a rise of chicken consumption from 72 pounds per person annually to 78 pounds today. That increase in domestic demand has helped to offset the effects of economic turmoil overseas. But the best news for poultry producers and indeed for all Americans is the longest peacetime economic expansion in our history heralded by President Clinton on Tuesday night. With nearly 18 million new jobs, wages rising, welfare rolls shrinking, the lowest peacetime unemployment in over 40 years and the highest home ownership in our nation's history all Americans can feel good about the future. For the second year in a row President Clinton will submit a balanced budget to Congress. That's quite a remarkable turnaround for our country considering that when the President was first elected, our nation was projecting budget deficits for as far as the eye could see. One issue of utmost concern to the American people and that remains a top priority for this Administration is the safety of their food. That's why in his budget for 2000, the President will ask for a $107 million increase to build on his Food Safety Initiative and enhance a strong science- based food safety system. There will be more money for inspections, for responding to outbreaks, for getting information to the people who need it -- especially consumers -- and most of all for research. Research that will among other things help you ensure the safety of your product. In fact, the President's budget includes a 1/3 increase in funding for USDA food safety research. There remain a lot of tough questions to be answered. Why are we seeing new, more virulent and resistant strains of pathogens? Just yesterday I announced a new test that can determine the presence of the potentially deadly DT 104 salmonella, after it's isolated, in 2 hours instead of 6 weeks. Other questions we might ask include, why has campylobacter emerged as the number one cause of food-borne illness? Can we move quickly to detect it and prevent it? There are also on-farm questions: Why do pathogens appear in some animals and not others? Can we stop pathogens from showing up in the first place? In helping to preserve the environment for future generations, we'll want to know how we can mitigate the effects of harmful runoff into our rivers and streams? Or, how can we improve the beneficial use of poultry litter? Science can have a major impact on our ability to answer these and other questions. Just look at what we've achieved in the last year by turning to science. One year ago the largest of your plants took that giant step toward basing poultry inspections on cutting-edge science under the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point or HACCP system. Thanks to this giant step forward, we now have regular tests for generic E. coli and salmonella. And I am proud to say that the numbers are in and the system is working, dramatically improving the safety of the food we feed our families. After 9 months of HACCP, I'm proud to report that the positive trend we reported after 6 months continues. 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 the decline is over 25% -- for ground beef the decline is over 1/3 -- and for poultry the reduction is nearly 50%. Furthermore, 91% of poultry plants under HACCP meet USDA's salmonella performance standard. Of course our goal is to have all plants meet that standard, but I am pleased that our partnership is working. As you know, by Monday, the larger plants will be joined by medium and small operations, putting over 3,000 large, medium and small plants under the new HAACP system. This means that approximately 90% of all meat and poultry production will be under more scientific scrutiny, with the final 10% representing the smallest plants of fewer than 10 employees coming on line no later than one year from now. Nobody understands better than you that safe food sells. Maintaining a consistently safe food supply is the underpinning to public confidence that the nation's food producers are putting people first. Industry has stepped forward in a big way and accepted the lion's share of responsibility for prevention in the production of safe food, and I want to thank you for that. I look forward to our working together to continue to reduce the presence of pathogens we find in our processing plants so that American families can remain confident in the safety of the food they buy. I also look forward to expanding the possibilities both here and overseas for new and bigger markets for your products. Thank you. #