Under Secretary Hagen Wants Stronger Food Safety System
In a speech given at the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting on January 9, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, Under Secretary for Food Safety, spoke about the "USDA's vision to make our food safety system stronger, smarter, better equipped to meet the demands of the 21st century."
Dr. Hagen affirmed that public health is the top priority. To accomplish this she listed three core areas of focus: Prevention, the right tools, and people.
She stressed that "Foodborne illness is preventable" and discussed areas of focus such as product tracing and combating emerging pathogens, including those resistant to antibiotics.
Dr. Hagen noted that the USDA and FSIS are focused on putting the right tools in the hands of the inspectors to build the best food safety system. She stated, "USDA needs to have the right tools in place. So that's the second area where we'll be focusing our efforts. From the tools in the hands of our inspectors on the line, to the legal authority Congress puts in the hands of our leadership; to science, data and research; we need the tools to build the best food safety system possible."
"People, are why all this matters", Dr. Hagen emphasized. "That's why we're here. We're doing this work in food production and food safety to serve real people, real families."
