Will be looking to e-mail and fax the following 3 org. mentioned below=GMA, FMI, AFBF to Launch National Consumer
Education Program On Irradiation, Food Safety in 1998
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Three of the country's leading food and agriculture
associations -- the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA), the Food Marketing Institute (FMI),
and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) -- will conduct a nationwide consumer
awareness program on irradiation and food safety in the coming year.
This public education program, aimed at reaching a common understanding about the role of modern
technology in protecting the safety of our food supply, will be launched in Washington, DC on April
7, 1998, at a national conference gathering experts from government, industry, health, and consumer
organizations.
Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, State Epidemiologist of the Minnesota Health Department, a nationally
recognized public health expert, will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Other speakers will
include: Bruce Rohde, President and CEO, ConAgra, Inc., and Mike Wright, Chairman, President
and CEO, SUPERVALU, INC., who will provide food manufacturer and distributor views
respectively, on irradiation and food safety issues.
Developed in the 1950s, irradiation was first approved in the U.S. for wheat products in 1963, and
subsequently for produce, spices, pork, and poultry. Irradiation is used to preserve foods consumed
by NASA astronauts and to protect the cleanliness and safety of a wide variety of medical products.
Earlier this month, the FDA approved the use of irradiation for red meat, including hamburger.
Co-sponsorship of the conference by GMA, FMI, and AFBF represents a unique farm-to-retail
partnership to increase public understanding of irradiation, a proven food safety technology.
GMA represents the nation's brand-name food manufacturers and marketers, FMI represents the
nation's food retailers and wholesalers, and AFBF represents American growers, ranchers, and
farmers.
The April conference, open to the media, will be coordinated on behalf of the sponsors by the
Science and Public Policy Institute, an organization dedicated to providing constructive scientific
input to decision makers on critical science and public policy issues.
GMA is the organization representing companies that make and market the worlds best-known
brands of food and consumer packaged goods. GMA is the industry voice on public policy and
industry productivity issues, through strategic issues management involving government relations,
communications, legal, regulatory, scientific and education advocacy. GMA member companies
have sales of 400 billion dollars, representing the largest volume (90%) of all food and consumer
packaged goods sold in the U.S.
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is a nonprofit association conducting programs in research,
education, industry relations and public affairs on behalf of its 1,500 members including their
subsidiaries -- food retailers and wholesalers and their customers in the United States and around the
world. FMI's domestic member companies operate approximately 21,000 retail food stores with a
combined annual sales volume of $220 billion -- more than half of all grocery sales in the United
States. FMI's retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, small regional firms and
independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 members from 60 countries.
The American Farm Bureau Federation is the worlds largest voluntary organization of farmers and
ranchers. AFBF represents all commodity interests and is involved in all issues which are of concern
to the nation's farm community. |
