Chairman Richard G. Lugar

U.S. Senator for Indiana

Opening Statement - Food Safety Hearing

Today this Committee holds an important hearing to review our food safety system and how it addresses microbial contamination. We will hear from a number of scientific experts and representatives of the federal government and the consumer and public health community.

We are hopeful that today's hearing will help the Committee gather answers to the following questions:

Is microbial contamination the most significant threat to our food safety system?

What are the food safety responsibilities of the federal government and the private sector related to microbial contamination?

What is the value of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approach to food safety in addressing microbial contamination?

What are the barriers to the development and implementation of new technologies and tools to detect, prevent and reduce microbial contamination?

Are changes needed in the food safety system to aid in the detection, prevention and reduction of microbial contamination?

Obviously not all witnesses will be able to address all of these questions, but we will be interested in hearing different perspectives from each of our witnesses today.

At this hearing today, we look forward to receiving testimony from the Secretary of Agriculture and officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the responsibilities of the federal government. We will also hear preliminary findings from the General Accounting Office about a food safety resources project that Senators Harkin, Hagel and I requested last year. Finally, we will learn food safety perspectives from representatives of academia and scientific societies, food processors, shippers and suppliers, growers and producers, consumers, and public health organizations.

I welcome our witnesses and look forward to receiving their testimony.