Food Safety Now Coordinated; No New Agency Needed

August 5, 1999

Federal agencies already have developed a coordinated and effective food safety system, making a new bureaucracy unnecessary, says the Grocery Manufacturers of America. The President's Council on Food Safety should be allowed to finish its work before any reorganization of food safety entities is tried.

"Before embarking upon an expensive, disruptive reorganization -- a purely bureaucratic initiative with no guaranteed improvements in food safety -- we owe it to the American people to see if the council's strategic plan and related activities can address any challenges that exist and move the country to a new level of food safety and protection," said GMA Vice President Stacey Zawel. "The existing system is a successful partnership among government, industry and consumers."

In testimony before the Senate's government management oversight subcommittee, Zawel said the Food and Drug Administration, USDA and other agencies with food safety responsibility already have the legal authority and expertise needed to further enhance the safety of the food Americans eat.

The United Egg Producers said that industry had successfully implemented various food safety programs. "A radical change in the current system would disrupt the smooth and efficient progress that is currently being made in reducing egg-related salmonellosis," said UEP official Ken Klippen.

He went on to explain that significant declines in salmonella, first found in eggs in the late 1980s, in part can be attributed to the egg industry working closely with regulatory agencies including FDA and USDA as well as state health departments and state departments of agriculture.

The Clinton Administration also argued for coordination rather than merger. In an effort to demonstrate their cooperation, USDA and FDA presented a single statement yesterday, although each agency sent a separate witness.