SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE DAN GLICKMAN
JOINT INSTITUTE FOR FOOD SAFETY RESEARCH
INAUGURATION AND SHAREHOLDERS INPUT
NOVEMBER 30, 2000

"Thank you very much. I want to acknowledge a few people: my colleague, Secretary Donna Shalala, who couldn't be here, for her Department's leadership on food safety. Miley Gonzalez, Eileen Kennedy and our entire REE mission area for their work not just on food safety but research across the board. Cathie Woteki, Caren Wilcox, Tom Billy and their team for the extraordinary work they've done.

"I want to thank all of you here, who are a part of the partnership that makes the American food supply the safest in the world. And let's not forget President Clinton, who has made food safety a top priority of his Administration.

"I am very excited about potential of the Joint Institute for Food Safety Research, under the leadership of Dr. Jerry Gillespie, recruited from - where else? - my home state of Kansas. The Institute, for the first time, gives us a coordinated effort, combining resources and talent from USDA and HHS. It will strengthen public sector partnerships with both industry and academia; it will encourage cooperation between federal, state and local governments; it will help us identify priorities and make targeted investments in research that will improve public health.

"Research is the linchpin of our food safety strategy. We need the best possible science and the most advanced technologies to keep pace with 21^st century food safety challenges. We need research that will allow us to get to emerging and evolving pathogens before they get to us. We need the best possible chemical and microbiological research. We need food safety research to enhance surveillance, to prevent contamination and bioterrorism, to improve treatment and more. And make no mistake about it...the private sector cannot be expected to shoulder this load on their own. The federal government must show the way.

"Today, I'm announcing new food safety grants to researchers at 29 different universities worth a total of over $14 million. The money will be used to meet food safety challenges across the board. Just to give a few examples: Cornell University gets nearly $600,000 for a farm worker education program to reduce microbial hazards in raw produce. Purdue University will get the resources they need for a 3-year study on the efficiency of using Chlorine Dioxide gas to sanitize fruits and vegetables. And New Mexico State will use their award to provide Internet-based food safety training to child care providers.

"With less than eight weeks to go before I leave USDA, I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk generally about the remarkable accomplishments of this Department and this Administration on food safety issues. From the swift and effective response to the 1993 E. coli outbreak in the Pacific Northwest to this year's final phase of HACCP implementation, USDA has been aggressive and vigilant about food safety. And we've done it at a time when rapid changes in food production and processing are making the task more difficult than ever.

"One of the most significant steps came in 1994 when, as part of a massive reorganization effort, an independent food safety mission area was established here at USDA. This was about more than moving around a few boxes on the organizational chart. It not only elevated the status of food safety, clearly establishing public health as a top priority; it also separated food safety responsibilities from our marketing arm, thus eliminating even the appearance of conflict of interest.

"This structural reform has been followed by major substantive reforms. It's not an exaggeration to say that HACCP has revolutionized meat and poultry inspection, directly targeting deadly pathogens that can't be caught with the naked eye. By complementing our inspectors' excellent work with state-of-the-art science, we have improved what, frankly, was an archaic system...a system that had barely changed since Upton Sinclair's exposé first compelled the federal government to regulate meat-packing plants almost a hundred years ago.

"HACCP has been an unqualified success. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited it as a factor in the decline of foodborne illnesses. The data show consistent declines in Salmonella contamination for all major meat products among plants that have adopted HACCP. Most recently, we reported that Salmonella has been cut by more than half on chicken carcasses and by one-third on ground beef.

"It's important to note that we couldn't have built this record without the partnership of industry. Industry understands that, ultimately, their marketability and profitability depend on the safety of their product. With the exception of an uncooperative few, I've been impressed with the way the private sector has risen to the HACCP challenge.

"But we also recognized that HACCP alone isn't enough. We understood the need for clear, measurable, objective performance standards that industry must meet. Without some kind of benchmark or baseline, we would have no way of measuring food safety progress; we would be relying on little more than an industry honor code.

"For all we've done, we could use some new tools in our arsenal, to make our new inspection system even more effective. I strongly urge Congress to provide the authorities that will put a little more teeth into USDA's enforcement efforts. For example, we need mandatory recall and notification authority. And to ensure that there's some accountability in the system, we also need the authority to impose civil penalties against firms that violate federal food safety rules.

"It's also important to recognize that pathogen reduction -- and other food safety imperatives -- don't begin and end at the slaughterhouse door. That's why we've taken a farm-to-table approach to food safety. Pathogens and other food safety hazards can be introduced on the farm, in storage, during transportation, in restaurants or in the family kitchen. Producers, packers, shippers, wholesalers and retailers all share in the food safety responsibility.

"So, of course, does every American who prepares a meal in the home. The simplest tips - proper food handling, washing your hands and cooking to the proper temperature - are critical to preventing serious illness. Consumer education and public information campaigns have been an especially important part of our efforts. On Thanksgiving, in fact, the Washington Post highlighted the live-saving function of USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline.

"The food safety challenges never end, and many of them cry out for the expertise of the research community. In the coming years, we'll need a laser-like focus on the immensely complicated issue of antibiotic resistance. We'll have to work hard to ensure that BSE stays out of the United States. We'll need more research to combat Campylobacter in poultry. And we must be on the alert for emerging zoonotic diseases, an area where USDA should play a key role given its experience with animal research.

"I won't be here to confront these issues. But most of you will be. And I strongly urge you to work with the next Administration, holding their feet to the fire if necessary, so that we can provide the American people with continued confidence that their food supply is safer than any other...and the safest it can possibly be. Thank you very much.