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Health and BiotechnologySelected Results through ConsensusSee below for short articles on selected projects from RESOLVE’s Health and Biotechnology Practice.
Food Safety Agency Invites Stakeholder Input on Risk-Based Inspection
“Everyone agrees that not all plants and all processes pose an equal risk to public health,” said USDA Undersecretary Richard Raymond in a news release. “FSIS should have the ability to shift resources as needed to more proactively protect the public from foodborne illness.” Given diverse perspectives about how best to determine risk and most effectively deploy inspection resources to reduce foodborne illness, USDA engaged RESOLVE to facilitate stakeholder input and reaction to FSIS’ preliminary plan to implement a risk-based inspection (RBI) program for meat and poultry processing plants. FSIS, which plans to pilot a “prototype” program later this year, has been developing the RBI concept for more than a decade. “It was very useful to exchange ideas with other stakeholders, including industry,” says Tony Corbo, a lobbyist for Food and Water Watch, a consumer advocacy group that has been a strong critic of FSIS. Corbo says his group still has many questions regarding FSIS’ approach to calculating the level of risk posed by a given processing plant and the corresponding level of inspection assigned to a facility. “We would have liked… an opportunity to come to consensus about next steps.” USDA is relatively new to involving stakeholders in program design. Jenny Scott, VP of Food Safety Programs for the Grocery Manufacturers Association-Food Products Association (GMA-FPA), was surprised to learn of consumer groups’ concern that RBI “is simply a way to get rid of inspectors,” although FSIS has indicated this is not the case. Both the agency and industry, Ms. Scott acknowledged, “have to better demonstrate how this is going to have a positive impact on public health.” This spring, in response to specific issues raised by industry, public health, and consumer groups about the agency’s RBI plans, FSIS has held a series of public workshops to address each of the critical issues raised during the stakeholder input process. Citing the RESOLVE report summarizing stakeholder input, Undersecretary Raymond declared FSIS’ “determination and commitment to a transparent and inclusive process” as it prepares for a pilot phase prior to broad implementation of RBI. Contact: Abby Dilley and
Kathy Grant Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology in the 21st CenturyThe role of agricultural biotechnology and its impacts on global food and agricultural production systems is a complex, often controversial topic of public policy. While some forums exist to engage stakeholders in a variety of agricultural biotechnology policy issues, none have been focused on anticipating the future of the technology and preparing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA, a key agency governing agricultural biotechnology products) for its role in the years to come. In mid-2003, then Secretary of Agriculture, Ann Veneman, chartered and convened the USDA Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology for the 21st Century (AC21). AC21 was charged with developing a report projecting what new agricultural biotechnology products are coming in the next five-to-ten years, their associated impacts to the food and agricultural production system, and how USDA can best prepare for this future. The Committee also was charged with developing an overview of steps being taken to comply with increasing traceability and labeling requirements around the globe. Established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, AC21 is comprised of diverse stakeholders including growers, technology providers, food manufacturers, environmentalists, and representatives from the seed industry, consumer organizations, and academia. RESOLVE staff leads facilitation of the deliberations of the Committee. The AC21 has collaboratively developed, finalized and delivered to the current Secretary of Agriculture, Michael Johanns, three consensus-based reports. Two were presented to Secretary Johanns in May of 2005. “Global Traceability and Labeling Requirements for Agricultural Biotechnology-Derived Products: Impacts and Implications for the United States.” This report examines the implications of the current different mandatory biotechnology labeling and traceability requirements in other countries on the United States agricultural food and feed supply chain, and how elements of that supply chain are responding to these requirements. The second report, “Preparing for the Future,” proposes three different scenarios of the future, not to predict the future, but for the purposes of examining and understanding the implications of differing outcomes. The third report, “Opportunities and Challenges in Agricultural Biotechnology: The Decade Ahead,” was completed and presented to Deputy Secretary Chuck Connor in August of 2006. Contact: Abby Dilley Tobacco Control Groups Find Common Ground, Unified StrategyIn 1999, five tobacco companies were charged by the Department of Justice, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), with conspiring to defraud the public by knowingly producing dangerous and addictive products, and misleading the public about the risks associated with these products. The case, which came to trial in September 2004, was a complex one, and its progression has raised a number of questions - including what sorts of remedies may be sought and what impact legal decisions surrounding the case potentially could have on its outcome. Approximately 25 people representing a wide range of organizations concerned about the health effects of tobacco use met this April to map possible outcomes of this case. The tobacco control community consists of multiple organizations, including the American Heart and American Lung Associations, Harvard School of Public Health, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, African American Tobacco Prevention Network, and the Tobacco Control Resource Center. This community's collective efforts to fight the impact of tobacco on public health have become complicated by differing priorities - ranging from treatment and care for people suffering from tobacco-related diseases to preventing targeted marketing of tobacco products to youth, communities of color, and other groups - as well as by differing strategic views. Yet meeting participants came away with a common understanding of time-sensitive opportunities presented by the case, and key themes and specific actions for a unified strategy for supporting the Department of Justice's case and the associated best public health outcomes. "This meeting resulted in a blueprint for focused collaborative action by the tobacco control community on this very important case," said Bill Corr, Executive Director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "The efforts to encourage strong public health outcomes from the case have been enhanced by coming together, jointly assessing the details of the case, learning from each other, and developing collaborative actions." RESOLVE Mediators Abby Dilley and Kathy Grant facilitated the meeting, which took place under the auspices of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). In preparation for the meeting, RWJF commissioned an analysis of the basic facts, status of the proceedings, possible outcomes, and opportunities for specific actions. Based on this understanding, meeting participants were able to generate a list of remedies that the tobacco control community could communicate, including actions to increase the transparency of industry health effect-related research and marketing activities; the elimination of aggressive marketing to youth and other targeted communities; the elimination of deceptive marketing practices; and various steps to remedy past harm. Most important, meeting participants succeeded in identifying a unified set of themes all members of the tobacco control community could agree to promote and reinforce in their public messages. Participants agreed to continue working collaboratively with one another on the case, and to develop and submit an amicus brief, outlining the specific public health remedies the tobacco control community supports. RWJF has a long history of involvement in tobacco control issues. "The Foundation continues to work to sustain a strong tobacco control policy advocacy infrastructure, which we believe is critically important to reducing the harm from tobacco use and exposure," says Senior Program Officer Michelle Larkin. "This meeting was an opportunity for members of the tobacco control community to learn from each other and identify opportunities to work together." Contact: Abby Dilley or
Kathy Grant |
Public concern over the risk of foodborne illness was
heightened this past year by outbreaks of E. coli
infections linked to produce, but what about meat and poultry?
Can the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), whose
inspectors are mandated to perform daily inspections of
thousands of operational meat and poultry processing plants
large and small, better allocate finite food processing
inspection resources?
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