Consumers & Food 2003: New Challenges, New Solutions

Thank you, John, for that kind introduction. (John Cady, President and CEO of National Food Processors Association).

It's great to be here with so many good friends, including Mark McClellan, who is doing such a great job leading FDA. He's a breath of fresh air for the FDA.

I'd like to talk to you this morning about what HHS is doing to make sure that Americans eat the safest, highest quality food in the world. Then I'd like to talk about what you can do to make America healthier.

But I want to start by thanking the organizers of this conference. This is a wonderful gathering of food advocates and experts, and I'm delighted to be here. This conference is always a reliable source of constructive ideas and input. Many of our initiatives were stimulated by discussions at National Food Policy Conferences. And we need your dedication now more than ever.

My goal at HHS is to do everything possible to ensure that Americans are strong, healthy, and independent. And I believe our Department is doing a great job. I want to thank the HHS employees who are here. I'm always proud to say that the best employees in the federal government work at the Department of Health and Human Services. And I know all of you are doing your best every day to maintain and secure the health and safety of every American.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the volume and complexity of foods is always increasing.

• There are more diverse food products than ever before - giving consumers more healthy food options.
• And we are adding to these food choices by importing a larger volume and greater diversity of foods than ever before.

Two years ago, when I became Secretary, I had my first briefing from the Acting Commissioner of FDA. I was shocked to learn that we had fewer than 150 inspectors, and they inspected fewer than 1 percent of food imports. I resolved to increase that number.

As a result, Americans have more opportunities to improve and enjoy their lives. But all of us need to work to make sure that Americans get safe food, and eat it in healthy proportions and healthy variety.

FDA has always been concerned about food safety - protecting the food supply from accidents and carelessness. Now all of us at HHS worry about food security - protecting our nation's food supply from deliberate attack.

We work to make sure that no terrorist can contaminate our food with anthrax or botulinum toxin or any other poison.

Especially at a time of heightened national alert, the security of our food from terrorist attack is a real concern to America. HHS is meeting these new food security challenges.

For example, in the past year, FDA and HHS completed a threat assessment of different categories of food, determining the most serious risks of intentional contamination during various stages of food production and distribution. We were able to track down food poisons within 24 hours.

HHS has also participated with the Department of Agriculture, the White House Homeland Security Council, and now the new Department of Homeland Security, in numerous counterterrorism exercises to evaluate our emergency response capabilities in simulated food-borne outbreak scenarios.

In addition, HHS has reviewed food security and rapid response and recovery procedures with industry groups and trade associations.

We're using these results in our food security activities, and we're providing the money that we need to do it. FDA drew on last year's special appropriation of $151 million to hire more than 800 new employees, of whom 655 work on food safety activities in the field. These new employees are already on the job helping to make the food supply more secure. Overall, we've gone from 12,000 inspectors to 48,000 inspectors.

NEW FOOD SECURITY GRANTS

I also want to tell you about new HHS food-safety grants we are making available to state governments to improve their ability to respond to food security emergencies, including bioterrorism.

Even before September 11, 2001, HHS was building counter-terrorism infrastructure in state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments by strengthening epidemiology and laboratory programs.

The new grants I'm announcing today will help state governments protect the populations they serve from terrorist attacks on food. States can use these CDC grants to invest in special lab equipment, in reagents, and in developing skills to ensure that a lab is ready to assess and respond to a food security emergency.

Support for HHS' food security initiatives has been tremendous. I want to thank all of you who work with us to make the food supply safe from people who would strive to hurt Americans through acts of bioterrorism. All Americans deserve to eat and drink safe foods and beverages.

PROPOSED FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS

As you know, President Bush signed a law last June that enabled us to monitor imported food even better and contain outbreaks of food-borne illness much faster. It's called the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. A sound food-tracking system could be critical to the health and well-being of untold numbers of people.

The Act requires that all food production and distribution facilities must register with the FDA … provide prior notice of intent to import food and food products … and develop a "one up, one down" record-keeping system that will contain information on where the food came from and to whom it was sold.

The Act requires four food safety regulations, and we proposed two of them on Tuesday.

The first is a record-keeping proposal. We designed it to help FDA track foods implicated in emergencies, including terrorism-related contamination.

To minimize the economic burden on food companies affected by the proposal, it would allow companies to keep the required information in any form that they want. Records may be kept in any format, paper or electronic, provided they contain all the required information.

The other proposed regulation would implement authority to detain any article of food that poses a credible threat of serious adverse health consequences.

I promised the President and the American people that we would issue the four proposals this year, allowing time for the public comment, and we have done that. I want to thank Dr. McClellan, Dr. Crawford, and their colleagues at FDA for making that happen.

PREVENTION

Now I want to talk with you about an epidemic that is slowing our nation down: obesity. Today, nearly 2 out of 3 American adults and about 15% of children are overweight or obese. And minorities are faring worse than the overall population: 23% of Hispanic Americans are obese. And 30% of African Americans are obese.

At least 17 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes. That's about one out of every 20 people. At least 16 million more have pre-diabetes. Poor nutrition, overweight, and inactivity cause at least a third of all cancers. And obesity aggravates hypertension, which contributes to the number one cause of death in this country: heart disease.

Every day, there's new evidence about the harmful health effects of obesity. The CDC reported this week that obese and overweight women face significantly increased risks of having babies with birth defects.

We must increase the number of women who are at a healthy weight before they become pregnant.

We should also be particularly concerned about America's children. Think of this: Type 2 Diabetes was once a disease of adults 40 and older. Now it's found in children as young as 8.

Why? Because our children are more sedentary and overweight than ever before. In fact, the number of overweight children has tripled in the past two decades. We need to get serious about our children's lifestyles and get them active for at least an hour every day.

This is where I get on my prevention soapbox. I can't help it! So many of our chronic, debilitating illnesses can be prevented through lifestyle choices.

We're doing our part in the Administration to encourage healthy habits. The President's "HealthierUS" program … my department's "Five-A-Day" and "Nine-A-Day" fruits and vegetable programs … our work to close the health gap experienced by too many citizens who are members of ethnic and racial minorities … our many initiatives designed to encourage exercise … and our nationwide campaign to discourage drug and alcohol abuse and smoking … are all important to this effort.

Leadership and setting a good example count. Last year I put HHS on a diet and lost 15 pounds myself. And our Surgeon General, Richard Carmona, is visiting 50 schools in 50 states across America to talk with kids about making healthy choices, like exercising and eating healthy foods.

With the enthusiasm and determination I see here today, I know that the health and well-being of Americans will improve because of your dedication and the track record you've established. Thank you again for having me here today, and I look forward to working with you to make America healthier.

Last Revised: May 9, 2003

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