The Interagency Working Group on Import Safety will hold a meeting Oct. 1 at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington to allow public comment on possible government action to promote improved safety of imported products.
The working group-an initiative of the Bush administration-was established on July 18 to conduct a comprehensive review of import safety practices and determine where improvements can be made.
The objective of the public meeting is to identify and recommend actions that government, industry and consumers involved in the production, distribution, regulation and use of imported products can take to promote the safety of such products, the working group said.
The working group is chaired by Michael Leavitt, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and includes officials from the Departments of Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Individuals interested in attending the meeting in person or by teleconference and those wishing to make a presentation at the meeting are requested to register by e-mail to Erik Mettler at [email protected]
The meeting will start at 8 a.m. in the Jefferson Auditorium of the Agriculture Department's South Building.
The working group has developed a strategic framework and posted it on a new Web site, www.importsafety.com.
The group hopes to release an action plan by mid-November that will address feedback received from the public and recommend specific actions the federal government and all stakeholders can take to enhance import safety on all levels.
Interested parties can submit electronic comments to either www.fda.gov/dockets/ecomments or www.regulations.gov.
All comments should be identified with Docket No. 2009N-0330.