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“HEALTH CONCERNS CAUSED BY INCREASING AMOUNT OF IMPORTED FOOD AND VEGETABLES” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S10289-S10290 on Oct. 1, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HEALTH CONCERNS CAUSED BY INCREASING AMOUNT OF IMPORTED FOOD AND
VEGETABLES
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, Americans have long been urged by our doctors, our teachers, and our parents to eat at least five servings every day of fruits and vegetables. When we follow this good advice, we assume that the fruits and vegetables that we are consuming are wholesome. Recent reports, however, have raised questions about the safety of imported food products. Our markets are increasingly filled with imported food that may not meet U.S. food safety standards. Thus, American consumers seeking a healthy diet face the unappetizing risk of unknowingly subjecting themselves to tainted imported food.
As the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I am conducting an investigation into the safety of food imports. I have asked the General Accounting Office to examine whether or not the Federal Government adequately protects the American people from tainted imported food. We need to know how imports are currently being inspected, what resources are being devoted to food safety and whether the highest risks are being given the highest priority in the inspection process. We should make certain, Mr. President, that our food safety programs are effectively and efficiently managed to safeguard the public's health.
Recent news reports have shown several instances where tainted imported food has caused serious illnesses. Food safety programs and food safety problems are not limited to beef and poultry, and it is not just food coming from domestic facilities that can cause health problems.
Imported fruits and vegetables in increasing numbers are causing serious illnesses. In March, over 260 children and teachers from Michigan developed hepatitis after eating frozen strawberries that were imported from Mexico. Those berries were illegally provided to the School Lunch Program, which requires food used to be produced in the United States. Instead, the tainted Mexican berries had been shipped to over 1,500 locations across the country, including my home State of Maine. In another example, over 2,000 people were infected with cyclospora in the last 2 years from eating tainted raspberries from Guatemala, making it the largest outbreak of food-borne disease in recent years.
Mr. President, I believe Congress must thoroughly examine the safety of imported food products. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service have shared responsibility for the regulation and inspection of imported food. Agriculture officials are responsible primarily for meat and poultry, while the Food and Drug Administration regulates and inspects other food products. Standards in enforcement are thus different, depending on the type of food. In addition, the significant increase in food imports has resulted in a system where consumers cannot be assured of the safety of the food they eat. A New York Times article on September 29 of this year, just this past week, indicates that food imports have doubled since the 1980s, straining the limits of our current inspection system.
Later this week, President Clinton is expected to announce several initiatives to increase and improve Federal attention to food safety. I welcome the President's increased interest in the safety of imported food products, and when his proposal is transmitted to the Congress, I will closely examine it to determine if it is, in fact, an effective and adequate response to this problem.
As chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I want to make sure that our current programs are being effectively managed and that both existing and new resources are efficiently administered to promote safe food, especially imported food.
Mr. President, the safety of food product imports is literally a life-and-death issue for many Americans, especially our elderly and our children. Food safety deserves close attention of the administration and the Congress, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the months ahead as my subcommittee continues its investigation and conducts hearings on this important matter.
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