Congressman Introduces Meat and Poultry Recall Bill

U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., has introduced new legislation to give the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture the authority to recall tainted meat and chicken products. The legislation is in response to concerns about e. Coli outbreaks and bioterrorism.

AS CANADA CONFRONTS MAD COW DISEASE, UDALL WILL REINTRODUCE MEAT AND POULTRY RECALL LEGISLATION

Under Current Law, Secretary of Agriculture Cannot Order a Meat Recall in U.S.

WASHINGTON - As Canada confirmed Tuesday that it had found a case of mad cow disease, U.S. Representative Tom Udall, D-N.M., announced that he will reintroduce legislation this week to give the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture authority to issue mandatory recalls of tainted meat and poultry products - a power the secretary does not currently have.

   USDA and processors now share the responsibility for voluntary" recalls under a system that both the industry and consumer groups criticize as cumbersome and ineffective. While companies supposedly make the decisions voluntarily whether to issue recalls, it is USDA that announces them. Udall said the illnesses and deaths linked to large recalls related to listeriosis and E.coli outbreaks are proof the current system does not work.

   This is a question of accountability," Udall said. Somebody must be held responsible for the quality and safety of the meat sold to American consumers. We cannot allow the meat industry to continue to regulate itself. Given the new threats we face, it is crucial that the Agriculture secretary have the authority necessary to pull unsafe meat from the market."

   Some of the bigger recalls in 2002 started out small because of haggling between processors and USDA over their size, but had to be expanded later. More than 21 million of pounds of hamburger meat from a Cargill-owned plant in Milwaukee and a ConAgra Beef Co. plant in Colorado, were eventually recalled, linked to E. coli contaminated meat that killed one person and sickened 90 people. The two recalls started out much smaller, totaling just 770,000 pounds from the two plants.
   
An outbreak of listeriosis in the Northeast during the summer of 2002 prompted the largest recall in history. Eventually it covered more than 30 million pounds of precooked chicken and turkey packaged at a Wampler Foods plant in Pennsylvania and J.L. Foods plant in New Jersey.

   Udall said that those recalls were not initiated until months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention picked up evidence of the listeria-produced outbreak. It killed eight people, caused three miscarriages and sickened another 45 people.

   Udalls legislation (H.R. 3127 in the 107th Congress) would amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act. The bill would simply authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to order the recall of meat and poultry that is adulterated, misbranded, or otherwise unsafe or tainted from retailers.

   Giving the government the authority to mandate a recall is opposed by the Bush administration.

   The Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak of 1993 prompted the imposition of a new regulatory system on the meat and poultry industry designed to help eliminate future deadly food-borne illness outbreaks. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) program shifted the responsibility for ensuring meat safety from USDA inspectors to the meat companies themselves and instituted microbial tests for harmful bacteria. Since the implementation of the HACCP regulations, however, controversy has erupted over whether the new rules place too much power in the hands of the meat industry to regulate itself.

   Despite the powerful forces that oppose the concept of my bill, we can no longer afford to delay. From threats of bioterrorism to mad cow disease, we must restore confidence in the meat and poultry that are on store shelves. The American public deserves real reform of the meat recall process."

   Udall is expected to formally introduce his legislation later this week.

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