FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement of Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) Senior Vice President and Chief Government Affairs Officer Mary Sophos, in Response to the Issuance of the White House Interagency Working Group Report on Import Safety
Contact:
Scott Openshaw, Director, Communications, 202-295-3957
Brian Kennedy, Director, Communications, 202-639-5994
(Washington, D.C.) “President Bush, Secretary Leavitt and all the members of the White House Interagency Working Group on Import Safety are to be commended for their work in submitting their report to President Bush on this most important issue.
“Maintaining consumer confidence in our products is the single most important goal of the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry. Consumers must be able to trust the government is doing its job, and they must be able to trust the brands they buy and the foods they eat.
“As the report noted, the President’s Interagency Working Group consulted with the food, beverage and consumer products industry during the development its strategic framework, and we are pleased that many of our industry’s suggestions are reflected in the report.
“For instance, the food industry believes that, while inspections are an important component of our nation’s food safety net, inspections alone are not the pathway to a safer food supply. A stronger focus is needed on preventing contaminations and outbreaks, and a risk-based, ‘lifecycle approach’ to food safety is the key to strengthening the safety of products or ingredients sourced overseas.
“Because food safety is a shared responsibility between the private and public sectors, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) needs the appropriate level of resources to adequately fulfill its food safety mission. Unfortunately, FDA’s funding has failed to keep up with inflation, let alone the rapidly changing food safety landscape. That is why GMA has called on Congress and the Administration to double the FDA food safety budget over the next five years.
“The food industry will continue to do its part to safeguard the food supply, and will continue to work with Congress and the Bush Administration to modernize our food safety standards and ensure the FDA has the resources it needs to get the job done.”
###
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) represents the world’s leading food, beverage and consumer products companies. The association promotes sound public policy, champions initiatives that increase productivity and growth and helps to protect the safety and security of the food supply through scientific excellence. The GMA board of directors is comprised of chief executive officers from the association’s member companies. The $2.1 trillion food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry employs 14 million workers, and contributes over $1 trillion in added value to the nation’s economy. For more information, visit the GMA Web site at www.gmabrands.com.
###
Based in Washington, D.C., the Grocery Manufacturers Association is the voice of more than 300 leading food, beverage and consumer product companies that sustain and enhance the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the globe. Founded in 1908, GMA is an active, vocal advocate for its member companies and a trusted source of information about the industry and the products consumers rely on and enjoy every day. The association and its member companies are committed to meeting the needs of consumers through product innovation, responsible business practices and effective public policy solutions developed through a genuine partnership with policymakers and other stakeholders. In keeping with its founding principles, GMA helps its members produce safe products through a strong and ongoing commitment to scientific research, testing and evaluation and to providing consumers with the products, tools and information they need to achieve a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. The food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry in the United States generates sales of $2.1 trillion annually, employs 14 million workers and contributes $1 trillion in added value to the economy every year.
[back to top]
|
Printable Version
