Meat + Poultry - April 2004 - 8

EDITORIAL STAFF

Political science

Senior Editor
Keith Nunes

he new Washington, D.C., convention center is a short cab ride from Capitol Hill
and the White House. It is also the site of the Food Safety Summit, an annual event
held in mid-March to educate food safety professionals about new research and
technologies related to their field. It's a great event, but with a little work it could be greater.
The summit's exhibition space is filled with food safety suppliers from all segments of the
food industry exhibiting their products. The education sessions, which include timely topics
like "Maximizing your food safety R.O.I.," "How to create a vertically integrated food safety
system," and "Evaluating your food security," are always filled with food safety professionals
interested in learning about new ways to improve their firm's food safety performance.
The Food Safety Summit is an event that has grown every year it has been in existence,
but it is also an event that has gone largely unnoticed by the leaders of the food industry.
That's where a change is needed.
Books have been written and late-night television show monologues have been filled with
anecdotes about the disconnection between Washington, D.C., and the rest of the country.
Improbable, and sometimes ludicrous, ideas have a way of being taken seriously in D.C.
Food industry professionals only have to review some of the laws proposed and passed
to understand how significant the disconnect really is. Country-of-origin labeling, with its
flawed logic, and the "packer ban" are two examples. Another is the designation of E. coli
O157:H7 as an adulterant, which has set back efforts to find the pathogen in facilities, because it would effectively shut them down or, worse, put them out of business.
A lot of these ideas gain traction, because their proponents are persuasive and the complex nature of the food industry makes it difficult to counter seemingly rational arguments.
That's where the Food Safety Summit comes in.
Its location relative to the nation's decision-makers makes it an ideal place to begin a
campaign to educate House and Senate members or even their staff members about the
food industry's efforts to ensure the safety and wholesomeness of the nation's food supply.
For the cost of a cab ride and a few hours of their time, these people can learn about how
much goes into food safety and how much money the industry has invested over the years.
I'm not naïve enough to believe people like Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) will be persuaded by such an effort, but there are others who may benefit and appreciate industry
efforts to tell their side of the story. Education is an endeavor that requires commitment.
You can't do something once and expect it to have any affect. The annual nature of the
Food Safety Summit and its proximity to people in power make it an ideal locale to begin
such an undertaking.
I've often heard Phil Olsson, a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm Olsson, Frank
and Weeda, tell members of the National Meat Association, Oakland, that they have to get
in front of their senators and representatives. It's imperative they understand that when an
issue arises there is someone within their constituency who will be affected.
Industry leaders, the C.E.O.s and company presidents who are often demonized in
Washington, D.C., as greedy capitalists who care nothing about food safety, can spend a
few days not only talking about what they do with their representatives, but showing what
they do as well.
Such an education effort will have a two-fold benefit. It will dispel the image anti-industry groups like to project and it will show a commitment to food safety. The food industry,
especially the meat and poultry industry, has come a long way in the past decade. Billions
of dollars have been invested in developing and implementing food safety technologies.
Millions have been spent defending the industry against unfounded attacks and illogical
legislative initiatives.
An opportunity exists to easily educate decision-makers and their staffs about the industry's efforts to maintain and improve food safety. The foundation for such an endeavor is in
place. All that is needed are people interested in telling their side of the story.
By Keith Nunes, Senior Editor
knunes@sosland.com

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APRIL 2004

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Meat + Poultry - April 2004

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