Remarks prepared for delivery by Mr. Bryce Quick, Deputy Administrator, FSIS, to the 2006 Food Safety Education Conference, September 29, 2006, Denver, Colorado.

Introduction
Good afternoon everyone. We've had an exciting three days of learning about some new things in the world of food safety. I believe this was a great conference, and I know we at the Food Safety and Inspection Service learned a great deal to take back with us.

There were more than 80 exhibitors and posters offering us some new data and knowledge that we can use when communicating to at-risk populations. Perhaps of most value is the information exchange that the conference generated.

We all had the opportunity to see and hear what others are doing to protect public health through food safety education. These lessons are invaluable and will help all of us in our efforts to promote food safety among at-risk populations.

We will go away from this conference with a better idea of the food safety issues that those at-risk face everyday. We know food safety is a major issue and we know that one in five Americans are most at-risk. We know who these people are. They are people we know — young children, older adults, pregnant women. And they are patients we treat — those with weakened immune system — people with diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, and transplant recipients.

Unifying Conference Themes and Messages; Outcomes
Over the last three days, we also heard from some of the nation's premiere public health officials.

• Secretary Mike Johanns
• Under Secretary Richard A. Raymond
• Under Secretary Nancy Montanez-Johner (FNS)
• Assistant Secretary John O. Agwunobi, M.D (HHS)
• Georges Benjamin (American Public Health Association)
• Kevan Lawlor (NSF International, Conference co-sponsor with USDA)

Closing
As we close this conference, I'd like to emphasize that we are in no way closing the dialogue. Let's keep the dialogue open and let keep it ongoing.

We want to hear from you on what we can do to more effectively address food safety issues for those most at-risk.

We learn from each other. Share your ideas; let's build an informal network where we can continue the information exchange that this conference has generated. We have the foundation that will allow us to serve and treat at-risk individuals and patients more effectively.

Dr. Raymond talked about a new, nationwide grassroots campaign that USDA is about to launch called Be Food Safe. You can email us your thoughts and ideas on where we go next with communicating and educating at-risk populations. Email your thoughts to: BeFoodSafe@usda.gov.

I'd like to conclude by thanking you all for your active participation and your involvement in making this conference a success. Let's continue to work together in the future. If we save just one life, all of our work will be worth the effort. Let's set our sights high, let's save lives and let's make a difference and help all consumers be food safe. Thank you.