HHS Secretary and Mexican Secretary of Health Together Visit United States-México Border Region on Import Safety

	U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt and Mexican Secretary of Health José Ángel Córdova Villalobos, M.D., review detained products at the Mariposa port of entry in Nogales, Arizona, on the United States-México border on September 11, 2007. (Photo by Shiloh Roehl, HHS)
	U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt reviews detained products at the Mariposa port of entry in Nogales, Arizona, on the United States-México border on September 11, 2007. (Photo by Shiloh Roehl, HHS)

September 11, 2007 - As part of a nationwide fact-finding tour to gather information on how the U.S. can enhance the safety of imported products, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, HHS Deputy Secretary Tevi Troy, and HHS Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., visited the Mariposa international border crossing between Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora. Joining the three U.S. officials was the Mexican Secretary of Health, José Ángel Córdova Villalobos, M.D., and senior members of his staff.

On September 10, 2007, Secretary Leavitt submitted to President Bush a Strategic Framework for enhancing import safety, which emphasizes a cost-effective, risk-based approach. This report is the first from the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety, created by the President in July and chaired by Secretary Leavitt, that has the mandate to review the safety of all products imported from around the world. The Working Group will release a final list of short- and long-term recommendations for import safety in November 2007.

The visit to Nogales was one of nearly 20 fact-finding trips Secretary Leavitt has led over the last six weeks to gather information for the Strategic Framework. During the stop, the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Commissioner, and the Mexican Secretary of Health toured the intake and inspection areas of the port of entry, and received a briefing from HHS/FDA inspectors and officials from the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Nogales is one of the most important ports of entry into the United States for fresh fruits and vegetables, and in peak season more than 1,300 trucks use that crossing point every day.

"The American people have a reasonable expectation of safety in the food and products that they buy, and we can and must keep that trust," Secretary Leavitt said while speaking to the media on Tuesday. "But," he continued, "The Federal Government cannot and should not attempt to physically inspect every product that enters the United States. Doing so would bring international trade to a standstill, and it would distract the limited resources that we have. Instead, we have to be smarter about what we do."

The U.S. and Mexican Secretaries of Health also discussed pandemic influenza preparedness and further cooperation on the surveillance of infectious diseases along the shared border.

Last revised: October 11, 2007