2008 Mid-Year Report - Food Regulation and Committee
Food Regulation & Nutrition Committee
Summary of Committee Action:
Report and Discussion on Administration’s Food Protection Plan and Import Safety Plan.
Dr. David Acheson, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Associate Commissioner for Food Protection
Jesse Sevcik, American Meat Institute (AMI),
Report on USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) Activities on Meat Inspection.
Dr. Dan Englejohn, USDA-FSIS Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy & Programs,
Jay Wenther, Executive Director, American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP),
Report on the Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE).
Work Plan for Updating NASDA Policy Statements.
Consideration of Policy Amendments and Action Items.
The committee recommended approval of Action Item (unnumbered?), offered by Ron Sparks (AL), Steve Troxler (NC), Charles Kuperus (NJ), and A.G. Kawamura (CA), to send a letter to Congress regarding 2007 Farm Bill nutrition provisions on purchases of locally grown fruits and vegetables.
The committee recommended approval of Action Item B, offered by A.G. Kawamura (CA) to develop policy recommendations on the Child Nutrition and WIC Reathorization Act.
The committee recommended approval of Action Item C, offered by A.G. Kawamura (CA) to update a NASDA survey on raw milk regulation and food safety issues at the state level.
NASDA and state staff from California and Michigan will prepare a draft document to update policy statements. The draft document will be distributed to committee members for review and comment in the coming weeks.
Shelley Feist, Executive Director of the Partnership, described consumer education activities on food handling safety. A new consumer educational campaign called "Be Food Safe" has been launched to raise awareness in the retail food sector. Additional information, educational materials and resources that can be individually tailored for state agriculture departments will be made available to NASDA members. discussed the views and issues of small processors. Small and very small plants have limited budgets and are concerned about the impacts of some FSIS guidelines and requirements on small business. described the agency’s new activities which focus on more outreach, training and education to reduce foodborne pathogens and enhance food safety. A new senior position has was created in fall 2007 at FSIS to coordinate these efforts. In 2008, the agency will further develop a new web-based system to capture more microbiological data from meat and poultry facilities. Last year, FSIS began conducting Food Safety Assessments (FSAs) to: (1) gather information on pathogen control practices; (2) identify best practices for E. coli control; (3) operational practices such as record-keeping; and (4) identify and correct vulnerabilities. Plans for 2008 include mandatory nutritional labeling of single ingredient products and updated recall directives. provided an industry perspective on FDA’s and USDA’s role in the food safety system. The meat and poultry industry want any legislation to be "data driven" because they face many issues and challenges, especially the many small processors. He expressed the need for more research and concerns about potential user fees/costs, and on-farm regulatory requirements. AMI believes there is a need to balance "intervention" activities with compliance and enforcement. , outlined the agency’s recently announced strategies to improve our food safety system. There will be a more "proactive" focus on prevention, with integration of food safety, bioterrorism response planning, import safety, and communication. The new Food Protection Plan includes 38 FDA regulartory action items and 10 legislative proposals on a wide range of issues such as federal mandatory food recall authority. The Import Safety Plan includes 14 recommendations and 50 specific action steps such as certification for imported foods. FDA wants NASDA input on the plans and plans to hold a 50-state meeting with the state agriculture and health departments in August 2008 to discuss key issues.
Chairman Ron Sparks, Alabama
Vice Chairman Steve Troxler, North Carolina
2008 Mid-Year Conference
Washington, D.C.
Committee Report
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