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“U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE MUST HAVE AUTHORITY TO RECALL TAINTED FOOD” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1638-E1639 on Sept. 3, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE MUST HAVE AUTHORITY TO RECALL TAINTED
FOOD
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HON. TOM LANTOS
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, September 3, 1997
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, the recent recall of 25 million pounds of beef has caused deep concern in the minds of many Americans about the safety of the Nation's food supply. The largest recall of meat in U.S. history has awakened new fears in consumers who are increasingly skeptical about food safety.
America's food supply is the safest in the world. But it is not safe enough.
Mr. Speaker, in January 1998, new meat safety rules will go into effect which will replace the old sniff and poke method used by meat inspectors. The new system will require closer scrutiny by the meat processors and USDA inspectors and will require the use of new high-
technology machinery by meat processors which will test meat for bacterial contamination.
Mr. Speaker, meat processors should not wait until they are legally bound to comply with these new regulations. Americans have come to expect the cleanest, safest food on the planet. Intense effort must be made to make the clean, safe food supply even cleaner and safer. Rigorous scientific checks at key points in the processing of meat must be implemented immediately to restore the public's confidence in our Nation's food supply.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, under current law the U.S. Department of Agriculture cannot compel a recall of tainted food. It can only ask producers to recall products voluntarily or it can withhold its inspection seal and the meat cannot be sold in the United States. But what about meat that has already reached the consumer?
Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman recently announced that he will ask Congress for the authority to recall tainted food. I strongly support this recommendation and I urge all my colleagues to work swiftly to enact this legislation. The time has come to restore public confidence in our Government's ability to ensure a safe food supply. We must give the Federal Government the power to compel a recall of tainted or potentially tainted food.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to place in the Record a recent editorial which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled ``Big Hamburger Recall and USDA Inspections'' for the benefit of my colleagues.
Big Hamburger Recall and USDA Inspections
The nationwide recall of 25 million pounds of contaminated ground beef at the peak if the summer barbecue season was a timely reminder of the imperfect and outdated methods currently used to inspect the nation's meat supplies.
And it was a warning to backyard chefs that the best protection against dangerous bacteria in their burgers is to cook the red out. A rule-of-thumb is that meat should be cooked well-done at a temperature of at least 160 degrees to kill pathogens like the potentially deadly E. coli 0157:H7.
So far there have been no reports the tainted meat reached California, according to the State Health Department, but a spokesman urges consumers to be alert for suspect Hudson Foods Inc. Frozen hamburger patties with ``Establishment No. 13569'' printed inside the USDA inspection seal.
The tainted ground beef was traced to a meat-processing plant in Nebraska, which supplied hamburger patties to Burger King, Safeway, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. They have removed the meat from their shelves. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman acted with alacrity in recognizing the crisis and asking for the largest meat recall in U.S. history when 16 people in Colorado were stricken after eating hamburgers.
A significant weakness in the USDA's enforcement powers is that the department does not have the authority to recall tainted meat, but must depend on voluntary compliance by meat-processing companies. ``I think that most folks would be shocked to know that industry--and not federal food safety experts--ultimately make the decision as to whether or not food is recalled when the public's safety is compromised,'' said Glickman. He will ask Congress to grant him the authority to recall, which makes sense. The Hudson hamburger scare also underlined the need for new inspection regulations scheduled to be phased in over the next four years, beginning in January. The stricter new rules will require closer monitoring by federal inspectors at critical points in meat processing.
New regulations will replace the unreliable ``sniff-and-poke'' inspection techniques currently practiced by USDA sleuths who have only a few seconds to spot spoiled poultry and animal carcasses as the move along an assembly line.
The time for updating USDA inspection techniques is long overdue.
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