The subcommittee convenes this hearing entitled safety of the u. S. Food supply continuing concerns over the food and Drug Administrations food recall process. Disease outbreaks from tabted food are an ongoing challenge. The centers for Disease Control estimates 1 in six americans, 48 Million People get sick from food bourn illnesses, 128,000 are hospitalize and 3,000 die. The number of multistate food illness outbreaks is increasing affecting greater numbers of americans, and the number of Vulnerable People older and immune compromised individuals is growing. The threat of food born illness persists even though weve gotten better at detecting and investigating outbreaks. And through the implementation of the hazard analysis and critical control point rules over the last two decades, cdc trend data indicates major reductions in the incidence of food borne disease. Yes the problem remains significant. When contaminated food reaches store shelves the fda is the publics last line of defen