| WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Senator Dick Durbin
(D-IL) today requested a meeting with Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman
to seek answers about “a situation in which Illinois students were served
tainted foods due in part to an apparent failure by the USDA to adequately
regulate food served in the school lunch program.”
“Illinois
officials have confirmed a disturbing Chicago Tribune report ("Food Safety
Plans Failed State Schools," April 27, 2003) that revealed Illinois schools
received ammonia-tainted food and did not receive adequate notification
that the product had been contaminated,” they wrote in a letter to
the Secretary.
They
continued, “According to St. Louis and Missouri health officials, USDA
apparently allowed the tainted food to be shipped out of a St. Louis warehouse
after the ammonia leak was discovered and despite a quarantine order. Illinois
School Board officials say they were told the food – which was part of
the USDA's donated commodity program – was safe to distribute. Yet a number
of children became ill after eating the contaminated food.”
They
added in the letter to the Secretary, “…we are eager to meet with you
to determine what steps your Department is taking to prevent similar occurrences
in the future, and to seek your support of legislative measures to ensure
the safety of food served in our schools.”
Schakowsky
and Durbin are authors of the Safe School Lunch Act (S.506 and H.R1551)
which would address many of the problems highlighted in the Illinois incident.
The legislation would require mandatory recall of tainted foods, notification
by the federal government to states that the states are in possession of
contaminated foods; improved communications between federal and state agencies;
and creation of an “information-sharing database to provide schools
with the latest safety-compliance information about the vendors they do
business with.”
Below
is the full text of the letter to Secretary Veneman:
April
29, 2003
The
Honorable Ann M. Veneman
Secretary
of the United States Department of Agriculture
14th
and Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington,
DC 20250
Dear
Secretary Veneman:
We
would like to request a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss
a situation in which Illinois students were served tainted foods due in
part to an apparent failure by the USDA to adequately regulate food served
in the school lunch program. Because we are certain that you share our
concerns about the rise in the number of food-borne illness outbreaks in
schools across the country, we are eager to meet with you to determine
what steps your Department is taking to prevent similar occurrences in
the future, and to seek your support of legislative measures to ensure
the safety of food served in our schools.
Illinois
officials have confirmed a disturbing Chicago Tribune report ("Food Safety
Plans Failed State Schools," April 27, 2003) that revealed Illinois schools
received ammonia-tainted food and did not receive adequate notification
that the product had been contaminated. According to St. Louis and
Missouri health officials, USDA apparently allowed the tainted food to
be shipped out of a St. Louis warehouse after the ammonia leak was discovered
and despite a quarantine order. Illinois School Board officials say they
were told the food – which was part of the USDA's donated commodity program
– was safe to distribute. Yet a number of children became ill after eating
the contaminated food.
As
you know, we are sponsoring the Safe School Lunch Act (S.506 and H.R1551)
which would address many of the problems highlighted in the Illinois incident.
While the facts are still coming to light in this case, it appears there
was a significant breakdown in communication between the USDA, the Illinois
Board of Education, the distributor, various state public health officials
and schools regarding the distribution of the tainted food. This breakdown
illustrates some of the shortcomings we see in the current recall procedures
employed by the USDA, where it is up to a food producer or distributor
to voluntarily recall tainted products from schools.
The
Safe School Lunch Act would allow for the mandatory recall and notification
by the USDA of any contaminated food deemed to pose a serious health risk.
It appears from the November 25, 2002 incident at Laraway School, in which
students and teachers were hospitalized after unknowingly consuming the
ammonia-laced food, that this food would have been a candidate for mandatory
recall. Additionally, the bill would require the USDA to notify states
that they are in possession of contaminated food, and for the states in
turn to notify all schools within 24 hours to immediately isolate the food
and cease serving it. Mandatory recall and notification provisions such
as these would have enabled USDA to address this situation in a proactive
manner. They also would have eliminated the communication problems
found in the Illinois case and prevented the tainted food from being served
in the schools.
The
legislation also calls for the USDA to organize an information-sharing
database to provide schools with the latest safety-compliance information
about the vendors they do business with, and to provide schools with guidance
when it comes to contracting with vendors. This information would have
been useful to the Illinois State Board of Education as it was in the process
of renewing a five-year contract with the vendor in question, Lanter Co.,
while the contaminated food was being shipped to schools.
We
believe it is critical to fully examine the USDA's role in allowing contaminated
products to reach school cafeterias in Illinois, and to determine what
safeguards are necessary to ensure such preventable incidents never happen
again.
While
we understand you are conducting an internal investigation into this matter,
we are anxious to hear what immediate steps your Department is taking to
ensure the safety of food being served in our schools. Please contact
us as soon as possible to arrange a meeting to discuss these important
matters that affect the health and safety of school children across America. |
