I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today to talk about food safety policy. It has become one of my favorite subjects. Indeed, it may be one of the all time favorites on the public policy hit parade. It has provided countless opportunities for speech making and fostered innumerable articles in legal and scientific journals. What would we all have to do and talk about if our safety policies were revised to everyone's satisfaction? Since that doesn't appear to be an imminent prospect, we can all relax. That aspect of our jobs appears to be secure fo a while, at least.
Events of the past few years seem to have brought about a broad recognition that some change needs to be made in our food safety policy to make it practical and in tune with contemporary values and knowledge. It is the anticipation of change coupled with a perception of a willingness to change that leads me to raise the question: Is there really a light at the end of the food safety tunnel?
