[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 166 (Thursday, August 27, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 45661-45662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-23258]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 166 / Thursday, August 25, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 45661]]

                Executive Order 13100 of August 25, 1998

                
President's Council on Food Safety

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in order to improve the safety of the food 
                supply through science-based regulation and well-
                coordinated inspection, enforcement, research, and 
                education programs, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Establishment of President's Council on Food 
                Safety. (a) There is established the President's 
                Council on Food Safety (``Council''). The Council shall 
                comprise the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, 
                Health and Human Services, the Director of the Office 
                of Management and Budget (OMB), the Administrator of 
                the Environmental Protection Agency, the Assistant to 
                the President for Science and Technology/Director of 
                the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the 
                Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and the 
                Director of the National Partnership for Reinventing 
                Government. The Council shall consult with other 
                Federal agencies and State, local, and tribal 
                government agencies, and consumer, producer, 
                scientific, and industry groups, as appropriate.

                    (b) The Secretaries of Agriculture and of Health 
                and Human Services and the Assistant to the President 
                for Science and Technology/Director of the Office of 
                Science and Technology Policy shall serve as Joint 
                Chairs of the Council.

                Sec. 2. Purpose. The purpose of the Council shall be to 
                develop a comprehensive strategic plan for Federal food 
                safety activities, taking into consideration the 
                findings and recommendations of the National Academy of 
                Sciences report ``Ensuring Safe Food from Production to 
                Consumption'' and other input from the public on how to 
                improve the effectiveness of the current food safety 
                system. The Council shall make recommendations to the 
                President on how to advance Federal efforts to 
                implement a comprehensive science-based strategy to 
                improve the safety of the food supply and to enhance 
                coordination among Federal agencies, State, local, and 
                tribal governments, and the private sector. The Council 
                shall advise Federal agencies in setting priority areas 
                for investment in food safety.

                Sec. 3. Specific Activities and Functions. (a) The 
                Council shall develop a comprehensive strategic Federal 
                food safety plan that contains specific recommendations 
                on needed changes, including measurable outcome goals. 
                The principal goal of the plan should be the 
                establishment of a seamless, science-based food safety 
                system. The plan should address the steps necessary to 
                achieve this goal, including the key public health, 
                resource, and management issues regarding food safety. 
                The planning process should consider both short-term 
                and long-term issues including new and emerging threats 
                and the special needs of vulnerable populations such as 
                children and the elderly. In developing this plan, the 
                Council shall consult with all interested parties, 
                including State and local agencies, tribes, consumers, 
                producers, industry, and academia.

                    (b) Consistent with the comprehensive strategic 
                Federal food safety plan described in section 3(a) of 
                this order, the Council shall advise agencies of 
                priority areas for investment in food safety and ensure 
                that Federal agencies annually develop coordinated food 
                safety budgets for submission to the OMB that sustain 
                and strengthen existing capacities, eliminate 
                duplication, and ensure the most effective use of 
                resources for improving food

[[Page 45662]]

                safety. The Council shall also ensure that Federal 
                agencies annually develop a unified budget for 
                submission to the OMB for the President's Food Safety 
                Initiative and such other food safety issues as the 
                Council determines appropriate.
                    (c) The Council shall ensure that the Joint 
                Institute for Food Safety Research (JIFSR), in 
                consultation with the National Science and Technology 
                Council, establishes mechanisms to guide Federal 
                research efforts toward the highest priority food 
                safety needs. The JIFSR shall report to the Council on 
                a regular basis on its efforts: (i) to develop a 
                strategic plan for conducting food safety research 
                activities consistent with the President's Food Safety 
                Initiative and such other food safety activities as the 
                JIFSR determines appropriate; and (ii) to coordinate 
                efficiently, within the executive branch and with the 
                private sector and academia, all Federal food safety 
                research.

                Sec. 4. Cooperation. All actions taken by the Council 
                shall, as appropriate, promote partnerships and 
                cooperation with States, tribes, and other public and 
                private sector efforts wherever possible to improve the 
                safety of the food supply.

                Sec. 5. General Provisions. This order is intended only 
                to improve the internal management of the executive 
                branch and is not intended to, nor does it, create any 
                right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law by a party against the United 
                States, its agencies, its officers or any person. 
                Nothing in this order shall affect or alter the 
                statutory responsibilities of any Federal agency 
                charged with food safety responsibilities.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    August 25, 1998.

[FR Doc. 98-23258
Filed 8-26-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P