The President’s Council on Food Safety

The Clinton Administration has made strengthening the food safety system a national priority. Sort of, anyway. Okay, so maybe there isn’t as much research funding available as some of us might want. And, granted, some of this is just for show. But an effort is being made, as evidenced by the recently launched President’s Council on Food Safety web site (www.foodsafety.gov/presidentscouncil).

This new Internet showcase is packed with infomation—some useful, some political. The centerpiece is a copy of the executive order, signed by President Clinton on August 25, 1998, creating the Council and charging it with developing a comprehensive strategic plan for federal food safety activities, and making recommendations on how to impliment the plan.

The web site also includes the Council’s charter, a Coordinated Budget Paper, Federal Register Documents, transcripts from four public meetings, and the Council’s recent response to the National Academy of Science’s report on the state of the nation’s food safety system. And for those seeking information on food safety news, product recalls and consumer advice, there are numerous links to other federal and state government sites dealing with these specific food safety issues.

About the only issue this web-intense web site doesn’t address is Vice President Gore’s claim to having invented the Internet!