March 25, 1997
Contact:
Moira Saucer
(202) 872-1488
CRN Urges White House Conference On Human Nutrition Research
Washington, March 25, 1997--Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) President John Cordaro today urged a federal advisory board to support a White House Conference on human nutrition research focusing on prevention and consumer education.
"Such a conference could help establish a national agenda for human nutrition research and education," Cordaro said in comments to a March 25 to 27 Stakeholder Symposium held by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C.
The CRN President criticized the use of "scarce research dollars" over the past 20 years, since the passage of The Food and Agriculture Act of 1977. That landmark legislation designated USDA as the lead agency responsible for food and agriculture research and set specific research priorities.
"The current system is doing far too little to get information to consumers and to prod the research community to address critical data gaps that must be filled to allow a health claim," said Cordaro. He noted that, despite FDA approval of a health claim linking adequate intakes of folic acid by women of childbearing age to a reduced risk of neural tube birth defects, only about 25 percent of women who are --more--
White House Conference Urged 2-2-2-2
capable of becoming pregnant have "heeded the message" by taking folic acid supplements. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) goal is to double this number in the next five years, but CDC lacks funds to implement a national education initiative.
In addition, Cordaro said that federal agencies should focus greater efforts and research attention on positive scientific findings, such as the accumulating evidence that vitamin E may reduce the risk of heart disease.
"Key federal officials have lacked initiative and vision to seize upon vitamin E and other areas of exciting and promising research and health promotion opportunities. A different, more dynamic, open system must seek to expedite research opportunities, like vitamin E, that hold out the possibility of positive outcomes with significant public health consequences," said Cordaro.
Cordaro also urged a critical and independent evaluation of human nutrition and education efforts by a blue ribbon, broadly representative, independent panel, which would examine and make recommendations for improving the management and coordination of federal nutrition research.
The Stakeholder Symposium was held by USDA's National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board to collect input from interested groups affected by strategic plans being developed by USDA's Research, Education and Economics agencies.
RSS