One result of this year's summit is a public-private partnership to ensure the safety of global food supplies.

The US government says nearly 50 million Americans are made ill by the food they eat each year, and thousands die from food-borne illnesses annually.

American officials, corporate executives and World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati announced a partnership Saturday to help APEC members and others ensure the safety of their food.  Sri Mulyani says that problems in the food supply spread quickly.

“A food safety crisis that originates in one region can so rapidly become a crisis in another region,” said Sri Mulyani.

The United States upgraded its food safety standards last January when President Barack Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act.  The new law focuses on prevention of food-borne illnesses, which Pamela Bailey, president of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, says is crucial.

VOA