The Safety of American Meat And Poultry
                                                               
                                            Release No. 0346.97
Backgrounder
                                 
Improving The Safety of American Meat And Poultry
The Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act
     The United States is putting in place a state-of-the-art, science-based meat and poultry inspection system.  Times are changing.  Our food
industry is changing.  The means by which government ensures food safety
have got to change, too.
     We lived with the old system for 90 years, but the world is different
today.  Today's meat and poultry plants are large operations that move
millions of pounds of product into grocery stores and restaurants across the
country every day.
     We now know that traditional sight-touch-and-smell inspections
overlook the hidden dangers in our food -- bacterial pathogens like E. coli
O157:H7 and Salmonella -- that pose the greatest threat to public health.
     That is why the Clinton Administration is committed to cutting-edge
food safety research, to consumer education, and to better ensuring the
safety of imported food.  A changing food safety environment is also why
America needs the Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1997.
     The Act will enable USDA to levy civil penalties tailored specifically
to violations of the new food safety standards and to move quickly against
public health threats.  It will also give USDA the authority to order
recalls of unsafe meat or poultry that is a threat to consumers.  These
tools are no substitute for aggressive inspection and oversight, but they
will further enhance food safety for America's consumers.
                    A NEW FOOD SAFETY SYSTEM
     The heart of USDA's new system is Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Points (HACCP).  All federally and State inspected meat and poultry plants
have to put in place HACCP systems and new sanitary operating procedures. 
The traditional system was principally visual.  Food safety inspectors
relied on sight, touch, and smell to prevent contaminated food from entering
the market. 
     The traditional system works in many respects, but has two fundamental
flaws.  First,  rather than preventing contamination, it focuses on catching
contamination after it occurs.  Second, it cannot detect harmful bacteria
like E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, which are invisible to the naked eye. 
The latest science and technology are not being harnessed to protect
American consumers.    
     The new HACCP system changes all that, putting in place controls to
prevent contamination and verifies that the controls are working. It
directly targets E. coli and Salmonella.  It is also designed first and
foremost to prevent, not just identify, contamination.
                                
     Here's how it works.  Each meat and poultry plant is required to
identify all of the hazards, or ways in which contamination could occur, in
its operation.  The plants then establish critical control points at which
steps are taken to prevent contamination.  After plants validate their plan,
or make sure it works, they must keep written records that verify that the
system is being faithfully followed.  And for the unavoidable system
breakdown, the plant follows a written plan to correct the problem and
determine what to do with the affected product.  
The New Roles of Government and Industry under HACCP
     The HACCP rule makes it clear that industry is responsible for
producing safe food.  Rather than micromanaging or trying to impose a
detailed one-size-fits-all system on every plant, the Food Safety and
Inspection Service will set the food safety standards and will allow plant
managers to establish procedures that work best for them.
     USDA inspectors will be less directly involved in a plant's
operations, but they will continue to play a crucial role in protecting the
public health.  In addition to traditional tasks, such as carcass-by-carcass
inspection, inspectors will monitor operations at each plant's critical
control points, review records verifying conformance with HACCP plans, and
collect samples for scientific testing for pathogens.
     USDA needs new enforcement tools to hold industry accountable when,
through inspection and compliance activities, USDA finds violations of food
safety standards.  
 
          NEW ENFORCEMENT TOOLS ARE NEEDED TO ENFORCE 
                  THIS NEW FOOD SAFETY SYSTEM
  
     The Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act will better protect
American consumers by giving USDA enforcement tools that will make this new
food safety system work more effectively.  The bill will do three things:
(1) it will give USDA the power to assess civil fines; 
(2) it will require notification to USDA of contaminated meat or poultry and
authorize mandatory recalls of unsafe meat and poultry products; and 
(3) it will clarify and reinforce USDA's authority to refuse or withdraw
inspection.  
                        CIVIL PENALTIES
                                
An Effective Deterrent Against Food Safety Violations
                                
     The Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act would give USDA the
ability to impose civil fines against plants that violate food safety
regulations.  Civil fines serve as a deterrent and can be imposed more
quickly than criminal penalties or the withdrawal of inspection.  They can
be appropriately tailored to the nature and scope of the violation, as well
as to the size and type of business.
     As USDA moves to the HACCP-based inspection system, more flexible
enforcement tools will become even more important.  Under HACCP, proper
recordkeeping is essential to ensure that plants are complying with food
safety regulations.  If a plant fails to keep accurate records, criminal
penalties or suspension of inspection might be warranted, but, civil fines
would often be a more appropriate remedy and will help hold plants
accountable.  
     Food safety problems can also arise outside of federally inspected
meat and poultry plants.  USDA has only limited enforcement tools.  The
civil fines proposed in this bill will give USDA an enforcement tool against
distributors, transporters, and retailers who do not meet their food safety
responsibilities.  
                                
Civil Penalties: A Common Tool Among Other Government Agencies
     Civil fines are a common tool to enforce Federal laws.  The Consumer
Product Safety Commission has the ability to fine companies that distribute
products in violation of product safety standards.  The Federal Aviation
Administration has the ability to impose fines for violations of airline
safety laws. 
     USDA can also impose civil fines in a wide variety of situations.  For
example, USDA has the authority to fine people who mistreat animals, people
who exchange food stamps for cash, and people who fail to keep appropriate
records on watermelons.  But, USDA does not have this authority for food
safety.
Due Process Protection for Industry
     The Food Safety Enforcement Act provides due process protections for
industry, restricting USDA's ability to impose fines until after opportunity
for a hearing before an independent administrative law judge.  Someone USDA
fines could also appeal to the Federal courts.
      HACCP COMPLIANCE BY REFUSING OR WITHDRAWING INSPECTION
     Most plants are committed to producing the safest food possible. 
Unfortunately, there are some bad actors who persistently violate food
safety standards.  The Food Safety Enforcement Act would reinforce USDA's
ability to protect consumers by taking strong action against these
companies.  
     USDA's existing authorities to withdraw or deny inspection have
historically been used on a problem by problem basis. Under HACCP, USDA will
need to take strong action against companies that either willfully or
repeatedly fail to operate HACCP systems in compliance with food safety
standards.  
     Most plants will successfully implement HACCP systems.  But for those
few who do not, who either willfully or repeatedly fail to meet the new
standards, the Food Safety Enforcement Act would reinforce USDA's ability to
take effective action to protect American consumers.
Due Process Protection for Industry
     The Food Safety Enforcement Act provides due process protections. 
Plant operators have the right to a full hearing before an independent
administrative law judge and the right to seek judicial review of any USDA
order refusing or withdrawing inspection.  USDA can, however, deny or
suspend inspection prior to the hearing if necessary to protect the public
health. 
                MANDATORY NOTIFICATION AND RECALL
               
Mandatory Notification
     Mandatory notification will improve food safety because the quicker
USDA is notified of potentially contaminated meat and poultry, the quicker
American consumers can be protected.  
     All plants and companies throughout the food processing and
distribution system, including restaurants and grocery stores, would be
required to notify USDA if they have reason to believe that meat or poultry
is contaminated.  Household consumers would be specifically exempted from
this requirement.
                                
     Here is one example why mandatory notification is important.  In 1994,
a major restaurant chain required the plant that supplied its hamburgers to
test for E. coli O157:H7.  When a hamburger tested positive, the restaurant
chain recalled the product.  Neither the plant nor the chain notified USDA,
however, and other product from the plant continued to be distributed into
the market for an additional two days before USDA was notified.
Mandatory Recall: An Insurance Policy for American Consumers 
     USDA does not have the authority to order unsafe meat or poultry from
the market.  Under current law, all recalls are done on a completely
voluntary basis. 
     For the most part, this voluntary system works. If, however, the
system does not function smoothly and without delay in the future, American
consumers will be exposed to potentially dangerous meat or poultry; the Food
Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act is an insurance policy for American
consumers.   
Mandatory Recall Will Fill in the Gaps in the Existing System 
     About 2,000 plants that produce ground meat fall under USDA's
jurisdiction.  But about 100,000 retail establishments produce ground meat. 
Giving USDA the authority to order the recall of suspect ground meat would
ensure that such product is recalled from the entire food distribution
system.   
   
The Power to Seize and Condemn Product Is Insufficient
     In the past, most food was produced and distributed locally. USDA
could easily seize and condemn potentially contaminated meat and poultry. 
Today, meat or poultry produced by one plant can be distributed across the
country to hundreds or thousands of distributors, grocery stores, and
restaurants.  USDA simply does not have the resources or the information to
locate, detain, and seize all suspect product in the food distribution
system.  The power to order a recall, however, will help ensure that this
occurs.  
Mandatory Recall: A Common Tool Among Other Government Agencies
     Suppose a very popular toy turns out to be defective, so defective
that it could kill the very children it is meant to please.  Fortunately,
the Consumer Product Safety Commission has, as it should, the ability to
order the toy company to pull the unsafe toy from the market.  In cases of
dangerous chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency has, as it should,
the authority to order a recall.  The Food and Drug Administration has
mandatory recall authority for a number of products, including infant
formula, but not for food products under its jurisdiction.  
     But when hamburger is contaminated with deadly E.coli O157:H7
bacteria, the government does not have the authority to remove it from
grocery stores.
     Several of our major trading partners have mandatory recall authority
for meat and poultry.  In fact, the majority of our meat and poultry imports
are produced under foreign inspection systems with this authority.
Due Process Protection for Industry
     The proposed legislation contains due process safeguards for
companies.  A company can request an informal hearing when USDA issues a
recall order.  If the company requests the hearing, USDA can only require
that the company stop distributing the suspect meat or poultry and notify
others to cease its distribution.  The meat or poultry would not be recalled
until the hearing is held.
                                
Food Safety Initiatives and Accomplishments
     
     This legislation is part of the Administration's farm-to-table food
safety strategy.  It will ensure that USDA can enforce more effectively the
food initiatives undertaken since 1993.
     Since 1993, when a major outbreak of foodborne illness attributed to
the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef occurred, USDA has focused on
a more science-based food safety strategy to reduce the risk of illness. 
USDA also:
-Began to require safe handling labels for raw meat and poultry products;
-Declared E. coli O157:H7 an adulterant in ground beef;
-Began an E. coli O157:H7 testing program;
-Announced expansion of food safety research, training, and education and
broadening of early warning system for foodborne illnesses through the
President's Food Safety Initiative;
-Initiated reviews of FSIS' policy on ground product production practices,
and FSIS' meat and poultry recall policy, including public notification
procedures.
                           CONCLUSION
                                
     Because of an ongoing revolution in food safety, USDA is doing much
more to prevent unsafe food from ever reaching consumers.  However, the new
rules being put in place will work best with the right tools to enforce
them.  Mandatory notification and recall, civil penalties, and authority to
refuse or withdraw inspection for chronic violators will make it possible
for USDA to do the most effective job it can to protect the public health
and ensure the safest possible supply of meat and poultry for American
consumers.
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