Washington - In testimony today before the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee to Ensure Safe Food From Production to Consumption, the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) cautioned against changes which are too rapid to the existing U.S. food safety system. NFPA stressed that “improved cooperation among regulatory agencies, within the existing system, can produce the desired results of advancing and enhancing the safety of our nation's food supply.”
Dr. Rhona Applebaum, NFPA's Executive Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, made the following comments:
“It is important to note that the current regulatory system in the United States has provided the framework for what is generally regarded as one of the safest food supplies in the world.
“While the food processing industry supports a strong and effective food safety regulatory system, NFPA believes that moving too rapidly in certain areas to change the existing system -- without the appropriate planning and evaluation -- may upset the dynamic that assures the high degree of safety that American consumers enjoy.
“NFPA believes that neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the U.S. Department of Agriculture fully utilizes their broad, existing authority, nor do the agencies coordinate their efforts as effectively as they could. Much could be accomplished by cooperative efforts among agencies, both at the federal and state level. Such cooperative efforts should target a risk-based food regulatory and inspection system, which focuses all available resources -- regardless of whether they are currently earmarked for meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy, or vegetables -- on those areas where attention is most warranted.
“In short, there needs to be a single scientifically based federal food safety policy, rather than focusing on creating a single food safety agency.”
In her comments to the NAS Committee, Dr. Applebaum noted that NFPA suggests better cooperation and coordination between FDA and USDA; shifting agency resources to focus on real risks; a stronger focus on prevention; not expanding the power to punish companies after problems have occurred; and a stronger focus on food safety education at all points along the food chain, including consumers as “realistic ways to truly enhance the effectiveness of our nation's food safety system.”
Dr. Applebaum's comments were made at a meeting of the NAS Committee to Ensure Safe Food From Production to Consumption, being held on April 29-30, 1998 in Washington, DC. The Committee's charge is to determine the scientific basis of an effective food safety system; to assess the effectiveness of the current food safety system; to identify scientific needs and gaps within the current system; and to provide recommendations on scientific and organizational changes needed to ensure an effective science-based food safety system for present and future generations.
NFPA is the voice of the $430 billion food processing industry on scientific and public policy issues involving food safety, nutrition, technical and regulatory matters and consumer affairs.
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