We are holding this public meeting today with clear direction from President Clinton to take aggressive steps to reduce illnesses caused by Listeria . In his May 6 th radio address, the President stated that our Administration's goal is to cut the number of illnesses caused by Listeria in half, from 0.5 cases to 0.25 cases per 100,000. And he added that we would aim to accomplish this goal by 2005, rather than 2010, as stated in Healthy People 2010 . Although foodborne listeriosis occurs less frequently than illnesses caused by other foodborne pathogens, it has one of the highest fatality rates. Most at risk are the very young, the very old, and those with immune disorders.
Pregnant women can pass the infection on to their fetuses, resulting in miscarriage or stillbirths.
This Administration has already made wide-ranging, dramatic improvements in food safety. The President's Food Safety Initiative is now in its third year of improving food safety surveillance, outbreak response, education, research, and inspection. And the President's Council on Food Safety is overseeing Federal food safety research and is developing both a national food safety strategic plan, which should be ready for review in July, and a unified budget plan for the 2002 budget cycle. He also directed HHS Secretary Shalala to develop an action plan identifying additional steps necessary to reduce Listeria contamination in the products under her jurisdiction. Fortunately, a lot of work already has been done to provide a foundation for this plan, and FSIS Administrator Tom Billy will talk in more detail about this progress in just a few moments.