"It is a food supply chain, and we're all in this together, " he said.
That means 9 million potential untraceable and unmonitored animals that could enter the food supply chain either here or abroad.
Romanian authorities said the meat was correctly labeled as horse and that the fraud occurred further down the food supply chain.
But, as anyone on the "field-end" rather than the "fork-end" of the food supply chain will tell you, these days margins are tight and competition fierce.
Farmers have long called for the food supply chain, which can involve many traders and processors between farm gate and consumer plate, to be overhauled and simplified.
For example, Jim Rodgers, co-founder with George Soros of the Quantum Fund, told the BBC that a lack of farmers played a starring role in a recent spike in food prices - grain, corn and soybean being critical parts of the food supply chain.
Kevin Morgan, a professor at Cardiff University and the author of The School Food Revolution, a book about the supply chain behind cafeteria food, said the supply network was complex and should be better regulated.
BBC: Horsemeat: 'Food fraud' not put health at risk, says expert
The Food Standards Agency will meet suppliers and retailers later to discuss how to prevent contaminated food entering the supply chain.
The government's review will consider the responsibilities of food businesses and practices throughout the supply chain, including safety, food authenticity, auditing, testing and health issues.
The workshop has been held in other U.S. cities and concentrates on the safety of our water supply and agricultural food chain.
Inflation, they said, was caused by high commodity prices pushing up energy and food costs, while supply-chain disruptions in Japan were in the process of being solved.
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Many farmers believe the crisis over mis-labelled food has damaged consumer confidence in the supply chain.
He said there must be "scientific verification" of the systems that food retailers' use to audit their supply chain.
He said food was being tested across the whole supply chain.
Temporary factors, including the damping effect of higher food and energy prices on consumer purchasing power and spending as well as supply chain disruptions associated with the tragic events in Japan, appear to account for only some of the recent weakness in economic activity.
Authorities have revealed a lengthy supply chain that traced the horse meat back to Romanian abattoirs, via Dutch and Cypriot food traders.
"People are now asking about where the food on their plate is coming from and they're taking more of an interest in the supply chain, " he said.
At the event, USDA chief economist Joseph Glauber warned of record farm prices for corn, wheat, and soyabeans for 2011, and resulting US food inflation of at least 4% this year and next as prices work their way through the supply chain.
FORBES: High Commodity Food-Price Decade Challenges All Global Managers
These statistics demonstrate both the complexity of the supply chain from feed farm to table, and illustrate the importance of sustainability in the American food production industry.
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The news conference came in response to food supplier Findus France saying it will file a legal complaint against a Romanian business that is part of the supply chain.
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