At Waters Forum, Rep. DeLauro, Administration Urge Congress to Improve the Safety of Imported Food

GAO Releases New Report on Food Import Challenges


WASHINGTON, Oct. 14  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) today convened the 2nd Annual Global Food Safety Policy Forum with the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in Washington, DC, bringing together policymakers and private experts from around the globe to discuss solutions that improve food supply in the United States and worldwide.

"Food safety is an important segment of the science economy," said Waters President Arthur Caputo. "Rising global demand, geographic shifts in to production, a more competitive marketplace and increasingly stringent regulatory requirements all affect the delivery of safe food to consumers. We are here as a partner dedicated to the science behind food safety testing."

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House of Representative's leading food safety champion, delivered the keynote address. She called for a robust U.S. traceability system, equivalency with trading partners and greater reliance on science and technology to improve the safety of food imports. "This is about food safety science and where we want to go," she said. DeLauro said it was critical that the Senate pass a strong food safety bill. The House approved a food safety bill (H.R. 2749) on July 30.

CSPI Director of Food Safety Caroline Smith DeWaal said Congress has taken steps to improve U.S. food safety but new legislation is needed because the country is operating under antiquated laws and consumers are increasingly concerned.

The Government Accountability Office released a new report at the Forum. The report concludes that FDA and USDA have taken steps to address the challenges in ensuring the safety of food imports but the agencies need to make better use of data available to them to target riskier imports and learn from the European Union's system.

The Obama administration, represented by Michael Taylor, an adviser to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, said food safety is essentially a supply chain problem. He described legislative proposals that put the onus for safety of imports on the importer as the "transformative idea" that would deliver improvements. He said the U.S. should utilize partnerships and move toward international standards to improve import safety.

About Waters Corporation

Waters Corporation creates business advantages for laboratory-dependent organizations by delivering practical and sustainable innovation to enable significant advancements in such areas as healthcare delivery, environmental management, food safety, and water quality worldwide.

Pioneering a connected portfolio of separations science, laboratory information management, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis, Waters technology breakthroughs and laboratory solutions provide an enduring platform for customer success.

With revenue of $1.47 billion in 2007 and 5,000 employees, Waters is driving scientific discovery and operational excellence for customers worldwide.

About CSPI

Since 1971, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been a strong advocate for nutrition and health, food safety, alcohol policy and sound science.

Founded by executive director Michael Jacobson, Ph.D. and two other scientists, CSPI carved out a niche as the organized voice of the American public on nutrition, food safety, health and other issues during a boom of consumer and environmental protection awareness in the early 1970s.

CSPI has long sought to educate the public, advocate government policies that are consistent with scientific evidence on health and environmental issues, and counter industry's powerful influence on public opinion and public policies.

Waters is a trademark of Waters Corporation. 

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