May 6, 2000

PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES AGGRESSIVE FOOD SAFETY STRATEGY TO COMBAT LISTERIA IN HOT DOGS AND OTHER READY-TO-EAT FOODS

                    THE WHITE HOUSE
 
               Office of the Press Secretary
 
___________________________________________________________________________
______
For Immediate Release                                         May 6, 2000
 
   PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES AGGRESSIVE FOOD SAFETY STRATEGY TO COMBAT
             LISTERIA IN HOT DOGS AND OTHER READY-TO-EAT FOODS
 
In his radio address today, President Clinton will announce an aggressive
new strategy to significantly reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses
caused by Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs and
lunch meats.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2,518 people each year become ill from Listeria -- and 20 percent of cases
result in death.  Food-borne listeriosis has particularly high fatality
rates for newborns, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.
The President today will direct the Departments of Agriculture and Health
and Human Services to take a range of actions, including new regulations,
to cut the risk of illness and death from Listeria.  He will also push
Congress to fully fund his food safety initiative and criticize Congress
for voting just this week to undermine that initiative.
 
TAKING ACTION TO REDUCE ILLNESSES FROM READY-TO-EAT FOODS.   Today
President Clinton will announce an aggressive new interagency effort to
combat food-borne illness caused by Listeria.  In particular, the President
will direct USDA to complete proposed regulations that include any
appropriate microbiological testing and other measures by industry to:  1)
prevent cross-contamination in the processing environment; 2) ensure that
the processing of ready-to-eat products meets appropriate standards; and 3)
ensure that such products are safe throughout their shelf life.  In
addition, the President will direct HHS to develop an action plan
identifying further steps to reduce Listeria contamination, including
identification of control measures for at-risk foods and the publication of
guidance to processors, retailers, and food service facilities.  Finally,
both USDA and HHS will consider the need for enhanced labeling to provide
additional consumer safeguards.  The Administration's goal is to cut in
half, by the year 2010, the number of illnesses caused by Listeria (from
0.5 to 0.25 cases per 100,000).  Today's actions should enable the
Administration to reach this goal five years early.
 
CALLING ON CONGRESS TO SUPPORT HIS FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVES.  Just this
week, Congressional committees voted to block funding for the President's
food safety initiative.  The President today will urge Congress to provide
the full $68 million increase he has requested for the initiative, which
would, among other things, protect millions of Americans from the dangers
of salmonella poisoning in eggs and enable FDA to expand the number of
inspections of imported and certain domestic foods.  The President also
will call on Congress to pass two key pieces of food safety legislation.
One bill, sponsored by Senators Mikulski, Kennedy, and Durbin and Rep.
Eshoo, ensures that imports of fruits, vegetables, and other food products
meet U.S. food safety requirements.  The second bill, sponsored by Sen.
Harkin, gives USDA authority to issue mandatory recalls and impose civil
penalties for unsafe meat and poultry.
 
BUILDING ON A STRONG RECORD OF ENSURING FOOD SAFETY.  The Clinton
Administration has made food safety a high priority by seeking substantial
funding for such initiatives as a nationwide early-warning system for
food-borne illness, increased inspections, and the expansion of food-safety
research, risk assessment and education.  The Administration has put into
place improved science-based standards for meat, poultry, and seafood
products.  The President has also created a Food Safety Council, which is
now developing a comprehensive plan to ensure the safety of the nation's
food supply into the 21st century.
 
      CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION: A RECORD OF IMPROVING FOOD SAFETY
 
To ensure that our food supply remains among the safest in the world, the
Clinton-Gore Administration has made reducing food-borne illness a national
priority.  The Administration has put in place improved safety standards
for meat, poultry, and seafood products, and developed enhanced standards
for fruit and vegetable juices.  Research, education, and surveillance
efforts have also been greatly expanded.  Significant milestones in the
Administration's efforts:
 
December  Announced Egg Safety Action Plan that will cut in half by 2005
the number of 1999 Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) illnesses attributed to
eggs, and will set a goal of eliminating such illnesses altogether by 2010.
 
July 1999      Announced efforts to improve egg safety by requiring that
          shell eggs be stored at 45 degrees Farenheit or below during
          transport, in warehouses, and at retail stores - and by requiring
          safe handling statements on egg cartons.
 
July 1999 Directed the Department of HHS and the Treasury Department to
          explore additional actions to protect consumers from unsafe
          imported foods.
 
Jan. 1999 Implemented new science-based inspection system called Hazard
          Analysis-Critical Control Points (HACCP) in almost 3,000 small
          meat and poultry plants.
 
Oct. 1998 Published guidance for growers, packers, and shippers of fresh
          fruits and vegetables to provide information on good agricultural
          and management practices.
 
Aug. 1998 Created the President's Food Safety Council, charged with
          developing a strategic plan for federal food safety activities
          and ensuring that all relevant agencies work together to develop
          coordinated food safety budgets each year.
 
July 1998 Announced Joint Institute for Food Safety Research, which will
          develop a strategic plan for conducting and coordinating all
          federal food safety research activities, including with the
          private sector and academia.
 
          Announced new warning labels on packaged fresh fruit and
          vegetable juices that have not been processed to prevent, reduce,
          or eliminate illness-causing microbes.
 
May 1998  Formed national computer network of public health laboratories,
          called PulseNet," to help rapidly identify and stop outbreaks of
          food-borne illness.  The new system enables epidemiologists to
          respond up to five times faster than before in identifying
          serious and widespread food contamination problems by performing
          DNA "fingerprinting" on food-borne pathogens.
 
Feb. 1998 Announced proposed food safety budget, which requests
          approximately $101 million increase for food safety initiatives.
 
Jan. 1998      Implemented new, science-based HACCP system for 300 largest
          meat and poultry plants.
 
Dec. 1997 Approved irradiation of meat products to control disease-causing
          microorganisms.  Implemented seafood HACCP regulations for all
          seafood processors.
 
Oct. 1997 Ordered additional actions to improve the safety of domestic and
          imported fruit and vegetables.
 
          Established Partnership for Food Safety Education, an ambitious
          federal-private partnership to reduce food-borne illness by
          educating Americans about safe food handling practices.  The
          Partnership has launched a multi-year, broad-based public
          education campaign to teach Americans about safe food-handling
          practices.
 
May 1997  Announced comprehensive new initiative to improve the safety of
          nation's food supply --"Food Safety from Farm to
          Table"--detailing a $43 million food safety program, including
          measures to improve surveillance, outbreak response, education,
          and research.
 
Jan. 1997 Unveiled National Food Safety Initiative, a five-point plan
          working with consumers, producers, industry, states,
          universities, and the public to strengthen and improve food
          safety.
 
          Announced new early warning system, the Food-borne Outbreak
          Response Coordinating Group (FORC-G), a partnership of federal
          and state agencies, to develop a comprehensive, coordinated
          national food-borne illness outbreak response system to increase
          coordination and communication among federal, state, and local
          agencies; guide efficient use of resources and expertise during
          an outbreak; and prepare for new and emerging threats to the U.S.
          food supply.
 
Aug. 1996 President signed Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996, which requires
          drinking water systems to protect against dangerous contaminants
          such as  Cryptosporidium and gives people the right to know about
          contaminants in their tap water.
 
          President Clinton signed Food Quality Protection Act of 1996,
          which streamlines regulation of pesticides by FDA and EPA and
          puts important new public-health protections in place, especially
          for children.
 
July 1996 Announced new HACCP regulations that modernize the nation's meat
          and poultry inspection system for the first time in 90 years.
          New standards help prevent E. coli bacteria contamination in
          meat.Jan. 1996 The Food-borne Diseases Active Surveillance
          Network (FoodNet), a collaborative effort among HHS and USDA,
          along with state health departments and local investigators
          around the country, begins collecting data to better track the
          incidence of food-borne illness and monitor the effectiveness of
          food safety programs in reducing food-borne illness.
 
Dec. 1995 Issued new rules to ensure seafood safety, using HACCP regulatory
          programs to require food industries to design and implement
          preventive measures and increase the industries' responsibility
          for and control of their safety assurance actions.
 
1994      Embarked on CDC strategic program to detect, prevent, and control
          emerging infectious disease threats, some of which are
          food-borne, making significant progress toward this goal in each
          successive year.
 
          Reorganized USDA to establish Office of the Under Secretary for
          Food Safety.  This increases the visibility of food safety within
          USDA and separates food safety functions from marketing functions
          carried out by other parts of USDA.  Reorganization also creates
          a new Office of Public Health and Science within FSIS to improve
          the scientific base needed to make sound regulatory decisions,
          based on public health.
 
1993      Vice-President Gore's National Performance Review issued a report
          recommending that government and industry move toward a system of
          preventive controls for food safety.
 
 
 
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This is a mirror of the White House press release, May 6, 2000, from the <http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/html/briefroom.html>;http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/html/briefroom.html> White House Briefing Room.