HCP food safety survey comment EC1

August 1, 2006

Division of Dockets Management

HFA-305

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061

Rockville, MD 20852

Re: Docket No. 2006N-0187

Dear Dockets Management:

The International Formula Council (IFC)^* offers the following comments on the proposed U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Survey of Health Care Professionals on the Food Safety and Nutrition Information that they Provide to Pregnant Women (Docket No. 2006N-0187), as announced in the June 2, 2006, Federal Register:

• Why does FDA plan to survey only 1,200 health care professionals “from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children” instead of from a variety of agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services? A broader survey of health care professionals would provide a more balanced set of responses.

• It is not possible to fully evaluate the proposed survey without being able to view the survey instrument, itself. Will the survey instrument be made available for public comment prior to its implementation?

The IFC appreciates the opportunity to comment on your proposed survey.

Sincerely,

Mardi K. Mountford, MPH

Executive Vice President

* The IFC is an international association of manufacturers and marketers of formulated nutrition products (e.g., infant formulas and adult nutritionals) whose members are predominantly based in North America. IFC members are: Mead Johnson Nutritionals; Nestlé USA, Inc., Nutrition Division; PBM Products; Ross Products Division, Abbott Laboratories; Solus Products; and Wyeth Nutrition.