WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, a leading advocate for tougher
federal controls to protect against food borne illnesses, today joined
the Congressional Food Safety Caucus. Schakowsky is a longtime consumer
advocate, who in 1969 led the fight that put freshness dates on products
sold in the supermarket.
“Parents
believe that there is a guarantee of safety that comes with the food that
their children eat at home, at school and at restaurants. Sadly,
that’s not the case. Working with members of the Congressional Food
Safety Caucus we can help provide parents with that critical guarantee,”
said Schakowsky, who is the ranking Democrat on the Commerce, Trade and
Consumer Protection Subcommittee.
Food-borne
illnesses affect 76 million people each year. Of those individuals,
approximately 325,000 will be hospitalized and more than 5,000 will die.
Children are especially vulnerable and comprise nearly 40 percent of the
victims.
Schakowsky
warned that there is also evidence of serious problems with the school
lunch program, which serves 27 million children each day. “Between
1990 and 2000, there were nearly 100 reported outbreaks of food-borne illness
in schools affecting thousands of children, many of them resulting in significant
health consequences,” she said. “Only 17 percent of the food served
in our schools is subject to stringent Agriculture Department safety guidelines
for dangerous pathogens.”
Schakowsky
continued, “Parents would be appalled to know that the federal government
has no authority to mandate the recall of contaminated foods sold to schools.”
Along
with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Schakowsky introduced The Safe
School Food Act (HR1551) to address these concerns. Senator Dick
Durbin (D-IL) is the Chief sponsor in the Senate. H.R. 1551 would:
-
incorporate
USDA safety guidelines into school procurement contracts to the maximum
extent possible;
-
give
the Secretary of Agriculture authority to require pathogen testing of foods
purchased by schools;
-
provide
state education agencies with current vendor information;
-
develop
effective methods to share supplier safety information with schools; and
-
allow
for mandatory recall of any tainted food.
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