I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1551

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to ensure 

the safety of meals served under the school lunch program and the 

school breakfast program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2003

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself and Ms. DELAURO) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

Act to ensure the safety of meals served under the school 

lunch program and the school breakfast program.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe School Food Act 

5 of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) the national school lunch program under the 

9 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
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1 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) is a federally-assisted meal pro2 gram that—

3 (A) operates in more than 97,000 public 

4 and nonprofit private schools; and 

5 (B) provides nutritionally balanced, low6 cost or free lunches to more than 27,000,000 

7 children each school day; 

8 (2) children are among the populations most 

9 vulnerable to foodborne illness, which sickens an es10 timated 76,000,000 individuals in the United States 

11 each year; 

12 (3) nearly 100 reported outbreaks of foodborne 

13 illnesses occurred in schools between 1990 and 2000; 

14 (4) Department of Agriculture procurement 

15 policies and procedures—

16 (A) help ensure the safety of foods donated 

17 to schools, which comprise about 17 percent of 

18 the school lunch supply; but 

19 (B) do not apply to the remaining 83 per20 cent of food served under the national school 

21 lunch program, which is purchased locally by 

22 schools; 

23 (5) it is essential to maintain public confidence 

24 in—
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1 (A) the safety of the food supply in the 

2 schools of the United States; and 

3 (B) the ability of the Federal Government 

4 and State governments to exercise adequate 

5 oversight of foods served in the schools of the 

6 United States; and 

7 (6) public confidence can best be maintained 

8 by—

9 (A) improving Department of Agriculture 

10 procurement and testing standards, and extend11 ing the standards, to the maximum extent prac12 ticable, to foods purchased by schools; 

13 (B) preparing and implementing plans to 

14 prevent identified food safety risks in the prepa15 ration of school meals; and 

16 (C) improving food safety training, infor17 mation sharing, and coordination between the 

18 Federal Government and States. 

19 SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SAFETY OF SCHOOL 

20 LUNCHES. 

21 Section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

22 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) is amended—

23 (1) in subsection (h)—

24 (A) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘Except as provided in 

2 paragraph (2), a’’ and inserting ‘‘A’’; 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘shall, at least once’’ 

4 and inserting the following: ‘‘shall—

5 ‘‘(A) at least twice’’; 

6 (iii) by striking the period at the end 

7 and inserting a semicolon; and 

8 (iv) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(B) post the report on the most recent in11 spection in a publicly visible location; and 

12 ‘‘(C) make the report available to the pub13 lic on request.’’; 

14 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert15 ing the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT INSPEC17 TIONS.—Nothing in paragraph (1) prevents any 

18 State or local government from adopting or enforc19 ing any requirement for more frequent food safety 

20 inspections of schools.’’; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) AUDITS AND REPORTS BY STATES.—Each 

23 State shall annually audit and submit to the Sec24 retary a report on the food safety inspections of 

25 schools conducted under paragraphs (1) and (2). 
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1 ‘‘(4) AUDIT BY THE SECRETARY.—The Sec2 retary shall annually audit State reports of food 

3 safety inspections of schools submitted under para4 graph (3).’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(k) PROCUREMENT OF SAFE FOODS.—

7 ‘‘(1) ACTION BY SCHOOL FOOD AUTHORITIES.—

8 Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall require 

9 that a school food authority incorporate into the pro10 curement contracts of the school food authority, to 

11 the maximum extent practicable, provisions to help 

12 ensure the safety of foods purchased by schools for 

13 a program under this Act or the school breakfast 

14 program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act 

15 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). 

16 ‘‘(2) RULEMAKING BY THE SECRETARY.—Not 

17 later than May 1, 2004, the Secretary shall promul18 gate final regulations to implement paragraph (1) 

19 that require—

20 ‘‘(A) each vendor that provides food prod21 ucts to be served by a school that participates 

22 in the school lunch program under this Act or 

23 the school breakfast program under section 4 of

24 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

25 1773) to supply to the Secretary the name and 
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1 contact information for each school food sup2 plier of the vendor; and 

3 ‘‘(B) as appropriate, pathogen testing dur4 ing production of foods described in that para5 graph. 

6 ‘‘(3) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall provide 

7 guidance to school food authorities on ensuring the 

8 safety of food purchases not subject to the regula9 tions promulgated under paragraph (2). 

10 ‘‘(l) FOOD SAFETY PLANNING.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each school that partici12 pates in the school lunch program under this Act or 

13 the school breakfast program under section 4 of the 

14 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) shall 

15 monthly prepare a plan that assesses—

16 ‘‘(A) the food safety risks inherent in the 

17 preparation and serving of meals; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the appropriate methods to prevent 

19 or eliminate the identified food safety risks. 

20 ‘‘(2) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

22 provide training and technical assistance to 

23 State educational agencies to assist in prepara24 tion of the food safety plans required by para25 graph (1). 
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1 ‘‘(B) USE OF FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT

2 INSTITUTE.—In carrying out subparagraph (A), 

3 the Secretary shall use, to the maximum extent 

4 practicable, a food service management institute 

5 established under section 21(a)(2). 

6 ‘‘(m) AUTHORITY TO RECALL FOOD PRODUCTS

7 SERVED IN SCHOOL MEALS.—

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 ‘‘(A) CLASS I RECALL.—The term ‘Class I 

10 recall’, with respect to a food product, means a 

11 recall that involves a health hazard situation 

12 where there is a reasonable probability that the 

13 use of, or exposure to, the food product will 

14 cause serious, adverse health consequences or 

15 death. 

16 ‘‘(B) FOOD PRODUCT.—The term ‘food 

17 product’ means a commodity donated to, or a 

18 food product purchased by, a school for a pro19 gram under this Act or the school breakfast 

20 program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition 

21 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). 

22 ‘‘(2) VOLUNTARY ACTIONS.—If the Secretary 

23 finds that there is a reasonable probability that 

24 human consumption of a food product that was, or 

25 may have been, distributed to schools would present 
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1 a threat to public health, the Secretary shall provide 

2 each appropriate person (as identified by the Sec3 retary) that prepared, processed, distributed, or oth4 erwise handled the food product with an oppor5 tunity—

6 ‘‘(A) to recall and collect the food product; 

7 ‘‘(B) to provide to the Secretary a list of 

8 individuals to whom the food product was sold 

9 or distributed; and 

10 ‘‘(C) in consultation with the Secretary, to 

11 provide timely notification of the finding of the 

12 Secretary to the State food safety coordinator 

13 designated under section 12(q) of each State in 

14 which the food product was, or may have been, 

15 distributed, which notification shall include suf16 ficient information to identify the affected food 

17 product. 

18 ‘‘(3) MANDATORY ACTIONS.—

19 ‘‘(A) ORDER.—If any appropriate person 

20 identified by the Secretary under paragraph (2) 

21 does not carry out the actions described in that 

22 paragraph within the time period and in the 

23 manner required by the Secretary, the Sec24 retary shall, by order, require, as the Secretary 

25 determines to be necessary, the person—
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1 ‘‘(i)(I) to cease immediately distribu2 tion of the food product to schools; and 

3 ‘‘(II) to promptly recall and collect 

4 the food product; 

5 ‘‘(ii) to provide immediately to the 

6 Secretary a list of individuals to whom the 

7 food product was sold or distributed; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) to make immediately the notifi9 cation described in paragraph (2)(C). 

10 ‘‘(B) INFORMAL HEARING.—The order 

11 shall provide the person subject to the order 

12 with an opportunity for an informal hearing, to 

13 be held not later than 10 days after the date of 

14 issuance of the order, on the actions required 

15 by the order. 

16 ‘‘(C) VACATING OF ORDER.—If, after pro17 viding an opportunity for a hearing under sub18 paragraph (B), the Secretary determines that 

19 inadequate grounds exist to support the actions 

20 required by the order, the Secretary shall va21 cate the order. 

22 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION WITH SECRETARY OF

23 HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.—In the case of an 

24 activity under paragraph (2) or (3) carried out with 

25 respect to a food product regulated under the Fed-
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1 eral Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 

2 et seq.), the Secretary shall coordinate with the Sec3 retary of Health and Human Services to ensure that 

4 the activity is carried out. 

5 ‘‘(5) NOTIFICATION TO SCHOOLS AND VEN6 DORS.—

7 ‘‘(A) PROVISION OF VENDOR CONTACT IN8 FORMATION TO STATE EDUCATIONAL AGEN9 CY.—Not later than August 1, 2004, and as ap10 propriate thereafter, a school that participates 

11 in the school lunch program under this Act or 

12 the school breakfast program under section 4 of 

13 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

14 1773) shall provide to the appropriate State 

15 educational agency current contact information 

16 for each vendor, and each school food supplier 

17 of the vendor, that will provide food products to 

18 be served by the school. 

19 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION BY STATE EDU20 CATIONAL AGENCIES.—

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State edu22 cational agency that receives notification 

23 under paragraph (2)(C) or (3)(A)(iii) with 

24 respect to a food product shall, within 24 

25 hours after receipt of the notification, no-
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1 tify each vendor and each school to which 

2 the food product was, or may have been, 

3 distributed. 

4 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS OF NOTIFICATION.—

5 The notification shall include—

6 ‘‘(I) the finding of the Secretary 

7 under paragraph (2); and 

8 ‘‘(II) sufficient information to 

9 identify the affected food product. 

10 ‘‘(C) ACTION BY VENDORS ON RECEIPT OF

11 NOTIFICATION.—Each vendor that receives no12 tification under paragraph (2)(C), paragraph 

13 (3)(A)(iii), or subparagraph (B) shall—

14 ‘‘(i) immediately cease distribution of 

15 the food product; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) isolate the affected product to 

17 avoid accidental distribution. 

18 ‘‘(D) ACTION BY SCHOOLS ON RECEIPT OF

19 NOTIFICATION.—Each school that receives noti20 fication under paragraph (2)(C), paragraph 

21 (3)(A)(iii)), or subparagraph (B) shall—

22 ‘‘(i) immediately cease serving the 

23 food product; and

24 ‘‘(ii) isolate the affected product to 

25 avoid accidental use. 
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1 ‘‘(6) NOTIFICATION TO THE PUBLIC.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a State educational 

3 agency finds that a food product subject to a 

4 Class I recall has been consumed under a pro5 gram operated by a school under this Act or the 

6 school breakfast program under section 4 of the 

7 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), 

8 the State educational agency shall provide pub9 lic notification in accordance with subparagraph 

10 (B). 

11 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF NOTIFICATION.—The 

12 notification shall include—

13 ‘‘(i) the finding of the Secretary under 

14 paragraph (2); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) sufficient information to identify 

16 the recalled food product and the date 

17 when and location where the recalled food 

18 product was served. 

19 ‘‘(7) ENFORCEMENT.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A violation of this 

21 subsection may be prosecuted, as applicable—

22 ‘‘(i) by the Secretary under—

23 ‘‘(I) section 12 of the Poultry 

24 Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

25 461); 
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1 ‘‘(II) section 406 of the Federal 

2 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 676); 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(III) section 12 of the Egg 

5 Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

6 1041); or 

7 ‘‘(ii) by the Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services under section 303 of the 

9 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

10 U.S.C. 333). 

11 ‘‘(B) NO EFFECT ON STATE PROSECU12 TIONS.—Nothing in this paragraph prevents a 

13 State from prosecuting any violation of State 

14 law. 

15 ‘‘(n) INFORMATION SHARING ON FOOD SAFETY LAW

16 COMPLIANCE.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta18 tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv19 ices, shall establish an advisory committee (referred 

20 to in this subsection as the ‘Committee’) to assist in 

21 establishing an information-sharing database, or im22 plementing another method, to provide each State 

23 food safety coordinator designated under section 

24 12(q) and other appropriate persons with up-to-date 

25 information regarding food safety concerns relating 
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1 to food manufacturing, processing, and packing fa2 cilities that produce any food purchased or acquired 

3 for a program under this Act or the school breakfast 

4 program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act 

5 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), including recalls by and 

6 enforcement actions against the facilities. 

7 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall in8 clude representatives of—

9 ‘‘(A) school food authorities; 

10 ‘‘(B) State educational agencies; 

11 ‘‘(C) State agricultural agencies; 

12 ‘‘(D) consumer groups; 

13 ‘‘(E) State public health officials; and 

14 ‘‘(F) food manufacturing, processing, and 

15 packing facilities. 

16 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara18 graph (B), a member of the Committee shall 

19 not receive any compensation for the service of 

20 the member on the Committee. 

21 ‘‘(B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of 

22 the Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, 

23 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at 

24 rates authorized for employees of agencies 

25 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 
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1 United States Code, while away from the home 

2 or regular place of business of the member in 

3 the performance of services for the Committee. 

4 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

5 shall provide for the availability to each State food 

6 safety coordinator of training and technical assist7 ance on use of any database or method described in 

8 paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—Not later than May 31, 2004, 

10 the Committee shall submit to the Committee on 

11 Education and the Workforce of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu13 trition, and Forestry of the Senate a report describ14 ing actions taken to carry out this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(6) FUNDING.—Section 715 of the Agri16 culture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Admin17 istration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 

18 2003 (Public Law 108–7), and any successor sec19 tion, shall not apply to expenses of the Committee.’’.

20 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF STATE FOOD SAFETY COORDINA21 TORS. 

22 Section 12 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

23 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(q) DESIGNATION OF STATE FOOD SAFETY COOR2 DINATORS.—Each State educational agency shall des3 ignate an individual to serve as the State food safety coor4 dinator to ensure within the State the safety of food served 

5 under a program under this Act or the school breakfast 

6 program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 

7 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).’’. 

8 SEC. 5. PROCEDURES AND ACTIONS TO ENSURE THE SAFE9 TY OF DONATED COMMODITIES. 

10 Section 14 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

11 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1762a) is amended—

12 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (d)—

13 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

14 the end; 

15 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe16 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(6) require, at a minimum, for any commodity 

19 that is used under a program under this Act or the 

20 school breakfast program under section 4 of the 

21 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773)—

22 ‘‘(A) daily inspection under the Agricul23 tural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et 

24 seq.) of any donated commodity that is covered 

25 by—
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1 ‘‘(i) the Poultry Products Inspection 

2 Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Federal Meat Inspection Act 

4 (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or 

5 ‘‘(iii) the Egg Products Inspection Act 

6 (21 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.); 

7 ‘‘(B) daily inspection of any seafood com8 modity that is covered by the inspection pro9 gram carried out by the National Marine Fish10 eries Service under the Agricultural Marketing 

11 Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.); and 

12 ‘‘(C) quarterly, on-site audits under the 

13 Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 

14 1621 et seq.) of each establishment that pro15 duces a donated fresh or processed fruit or veg16 etable.’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub18 section (h); and 

19 (3) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(g) ACTIONS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF DO22 NATED COMMODITIES.—With respect to commodities pur23 chased by the Secretary for a program under this Act or 

24 the school breakfast program under section 4 of the Child 
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1 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), the Secretary 

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(1) in the case of ground uncooked meat prod4 ucts—

5 ‘‘(A) collect samples at least 4 times per 

6 day during production; and 

7 ‘‘(B) conduct at least daily composite test8 ing for compliance with the microbiological lim9 its established by the Secretary on—

10 ‘‘(i) Escherichia coli (E. coli) 

11 O157:H7 in effect on October 1, 2002; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) Salmonella in effect on October 

13 1, 2002, unless the Secretary develops a 

14 more appropriate scientific and health15 based standard; 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) collect and test samples at least 4 times 

17 per day during production from food contact sur18 faces of ready-to-eat meat and poultry product 

19 plants; and 

20 ‘‘(B) if the result of a test under subparagraph 

21 (A) is positive for Listeria spp., conduct product 

22 sampling for compliance with the microbiological 

23 limit on Listeria monocytogenes issued by the Sec24 retary on May 23, 1989 (54 Fed. Reg. 22345); and 
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1 ‘‘(3) reject any lot of food products that fails to 

2 meet the requirements of paragraph (1) or para3 graph (2), as applicable.’’.

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