[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 35 (Monday, August 31, 1998)]
[Pages 1653-1654]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13100--President's Council on Food Safety

August 25, 1998

    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

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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 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.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
August 25, 1998.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., August 26, 
1998]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on 
August 27.