Clinton proposes merger of food inspection units into one agency

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton discusses food safety during her talk at the Nov. 19 forum in Barnes Hall auditorium. Robert Barker/University Photography

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

With the memory of the terrorist attacks still fresh and with anthrax-tainted mail still a fear, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) told participants at a forum at Cornell Nov. 19 that American food safety also has become a top priority in Washington, D.C.

Making a suggestion that directly addresses the issue, Clinton said she would like to see the food inspection units of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) -- disparate, noncommunicative and overworked departments -- merge into a separate agency.

The USDA inspects meat and poultry and the FDA inspects domestic and imported fruits, vegetables and fish. There are not enough inspectors for either agency to satisfy the growing task of overseeing the safety of the United States' food supply, Clinton said. "Right now, some things have got to change," she said.

Clinton spoke at the Bioterrorism Community Forum, sponsored by Cornell and The Ithaca Journal, in Barnes Hall auditorium on campus. More than 200 students and invited guests participated in the forum. Susan Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a member of Clinton's agricultural advisory board, introduced the senator and the panelists: Kathryn J. Boor, Cornell associate professor of food science, and Chuck Wright, regional coordinator of the New York State Emergency Management Office.

When Clinton suggested merging the two food inspection units into a new agency, Boor's face lit up with a smile. "That's my number one thing," said Boor after the forum. "If I could have cheered up there on stage when Senator Clinton suggested it, I would have cheered."

In October Clinton introduced a $500 million bill that would give immediate food recall and detention authority to the FDA, quickly stopping contaminated food from spreading to consumers.

Donald Smith, foreground, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, addresses panel members at the Bioterrorism Community Forum, Nov. 19, in Barnes Hall. Panel members, from left, are Kathryn Boor, associate professor of food science; Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton; and Susan Henry, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Robert Barker/University Photography

The Clinton proposal also would provide resources to the FDA so that it can increase inspections of food imports. Currently the FDA inspects less than 1 percent of all imports annually and uses only 700 inspectors to oversee food imports and investigate 57,000 sites. Further, the Clinton bill would require importers to provide "prior notice" of the foods they intend to bring inside American borders. The bill's goal is to enhance surveillance of animal and human disease, and it would permit food safety research at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"We have a highly centralized food supply," said Clinton. "Our food supply is too vulnerable."

Boor agreed with Clinton that the food supply is vulnerable. The Centers for Disease Control estimated 76 million case of gastrointestinal illness in 1999. Of those, there were 5,000 deaths and more than 325,000 people requiring hospitalization. "There is growing evidence in the medical profession regarding some very serious long-term health consequences associated with food-borne illnesses," Boor said during the forum. "They could be a loss of pregnancy, kidney failure and reactive arthritis. They could reduce a patient's quality of life."

Boor suggested dissecting the entire food chain from farm to fork, including effective food safety training programs for farmers, food processors and food distributors, and high-technology tools for monitoring the food supply and identifying contamination. The federal government also needs to invest in basic research that will improve ways to recognize the presence of biological agents, she said.

"To protect our food supply, we must identify vulnerability gaps in our current system, whether on the farm, at the processing plant or at any point along the distribution pathway up to the consumer that would allow either accidental or intentional contamination of the food supply," Boor said.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences freshman Adam Sansiveri, who will major in biological sciences, sang the national anthem at the beginning of the forum.