Remarks at Opening Ceremony Food Safety Forum
June 24, 2008

Safe products are in everyone’s best interests.  In the United States, health concerns have arisen about numerous products - from toys to tomatoes.  And these troublesome products have come from China, from within the United States and from elsewhere.  As you have seen from recent press reports coming from the United States, food-borne illness is a serious public health threat.  Each year, approximately 76 million cases of food-borne illness occur in the United States alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  These illnesses result in more than 325,000 people hospitalized and approximately 5,000 deaths in the United States each year.

The worldwide food crisis has also been front page news.  Conferences have been held here and elsewhere to address food shortages and the rising cost of food and other related products.  The United States is leading the way to address this serious problem.  We expect to spend nearly $5 billion in 2008 and 2009 to address global hunger.  Making sure food is available is our first priority, but we must also ensure that food and other products are safe for our people.  The purpose of this forum is to engage the countries of the region by bringing together Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Commerce, as well as private business and other interested parties, to discuss how best to safeguard the food and consumer products our citizens and our families are buying each day.

Today, we will discuss our shared goals of expanding trade in agricultural products while maintaining food safety.  We also want to have a broad dialogue about the potential role of standards and certification in region-wide cooperation to prevent trade disruptions associated with food safety concerns.

Private-sector involvement is critical to ensuring the safety of food products at every stage of the supply chain.  By engaging the private sector directly, governments can take advantage of the unique ability of industry to preserve the integrity of goods through every step of production and distribution, whether for domestic consumption or export.

CAFTA-DR provides opportunities for increased exports of food and other consumer products.  We have seen an increase in demand in the United States for nostalgic products from El Salvador and other countries in the region.  More exports mean more jobs.  More jobs mean increased opportunities for the people to improve their quality of life.

This is what has brought Michael O. Leavitt to the region. 

As Secretary of Health and Human Services since 2005,  he leads the Nation’s efforts to protect the health of all Americans and provide essential human services to those in need.  

Secretary Leavitt spearheaded the U.S.’s Health Diplomacy initiative aimed at improving the health of Central Americans and bringing the countries of North and Central America closer together.  He remains committed to those goals.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Secretary Michael Leavitt….