FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Timothy Willard (202) 637-8060

September 16, 1999 Visit NFPA's website at www.nfpa-food.org

(Washington, D.C.) -- In response to new foodborne illnesses estimates published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based on the latest government-collected data, Dr. Rhona Applebaum, Executive Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for the National Food Processors Association (NFPA), made the following comments:

"The food industry has a strong commitment to food safety, and it is in our industry's best interest to have the most accurate information possible on health-related issues. Food companies strongly support adequate funding for government research and food safety programs. Better statistical information -- such as the information CDC has released -- will help us in our efforts to identify, target, and address potential food safety problems.

"These new numbers will provide critical information that can be used to help determine how and where real food safety risks lie, and to better target our nation's food safety resources to truly enhance the safety of the food supply and address potential problems.

"Deficiencies with factual statistics related to food safety and foodborne illness have been a persistent problem that has impeded research and made it difficult to conduct accurate risk assessments. Lacking scientifically reliable data, numbers become the swampy domain of agenda politics; conversely, more accurate data advance the discussion of ways to further enhance our nation's food safety systems."

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NFPA is the voice of the $460 billion food processing industry on scientific and public policy issues involving food safety, nutrition, technical and regulatory matters and consumer affairs. For further information, contact Timothy Willard, NFPA's Vice President of Communications, at (202) 637-8060, or visit NFPA's Website at www.nfpa-food.org.