President Obama's Weekly Radio Address (Mar 14, 2009)

HIGHLIGHTS:

I've often said government cannot do all things for all people. There are certain things only government can do. That is ensuring the foods we eat and medicines we take are safe. That's the job of the Food and Drug Administration with the Department of Agriculture.

The men and women who test our food are veteranarians and pharmacists and one of the reasons why the U.S. is the safest place to live in the world. In recent years we've seen a number of problems with the food coming to our tables. Recently we've seen spinach and this year peanuts that have been a painful reminder of the tragic consequences of food producers acting irresponsibly and the government failing to do their job.

Part of the reason is that the laws and regulations have not been updated since they were written from the time of Teddy Roosevelt. It's difficult for parts of our government to share information, work together, and solve problems.

Roughly 95% of our food warehouses are not inspected each year. This will change under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Hamburg. She has brings not only a reputation of integrity but of achievement in making Americans safer. She was one of the youngest people ever elected to the Institute of Medicine. She was New York City Health Commissioner, leading an international initiative that cut the tuberculosis rate nearly in half.

Joining her will be Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, a national leader in preventing children from harmful over-the-counter products. Their critical work and the work of the FDA will be part of a new food and safety group that I'm creating to update me on how we're improving our food safety laws in the coming years, and how we can enforce the laws.

In the end, food safety is something I take seriously, not just as the president but as a parent. No parent should have to worry that their child will get sick from their lunch or that their medicines will cause them harm. This is one of the fundamental responsibilities of government which I am going to uphold for years to come.