§7654. Food Safety Research Information Office and national conference
(a) Food Safety Research Information Office
(1) Establishment
The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a Food Safety Research Information Office at the National Agricultural Library.
(2) Purpose
The Office shall provide to the research community and the general public information on publicly funded, and to the maximum extent practicable, privately funded food safety research initiatives for the purpose of-
(A) preventing unintended duplication of food safety research; and
(B) assisting the executive and legislative branches of the Federal Government and private research entities to assess food safety research needs and priorities.
(3) Cooperation
The Office shall carry out this subsection in cooperation with the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public institutions, and, on a voluntary basis, private research entities.
(b) National conference; annual workshops
Not later than 120 days after June 23, 1998, the Secretary shall sponsor a conference to be known as the "National Conference on Food Safety Research", for the purpose of beginning the task of prioritization of food safety research. The Secretary shall sponsor annual workshops in each of the subsequent 4 years after the conference so that priorities can be updated or adjusted to reflect changing food safety concerns.
(c) Food safety report
With regard to the study and report to be prepared by the National Academy of Sciences on the scientific and organizational needs for an effective food safety system, the study shall include recommendations to ensure that the food safety inspection system, within the resources traditionally available to existing food safety agencies, protects the public health.
(