|
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - In the wake of the recent Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company recall of over 143 million pounds of beef, U.S. Representative Ron Klein (FL-22) today called on Congress to hold oversight hearings of national food safety processes to determine why inspectors were unable to catch violations before millions of pounds of beef were consumed by school children across the country.
"The breakdown of federal oversight regarding the shipment of millions of pounds of questionable meat is appalling and simply unacceptable," Rep. Klein stated. "The recent recall of millions of pounds of beef should serve as a grave warning to our government regulators that greater oversight is necessary to ensure that our children are never again put in the position of consuming potentially tainted food."
Rep. Klein is further pushing for approval of a proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture rule which would require public disclosure of retail outlets that have sold recalled meat in "real-time," so that consumers can find out whether or not their local grocery store sold the meat in question either by calling a hotline or checking an internet site.
"Americans depend on the government to protect them from products that may pose a threat to their health and safety," Rep. Klein commented. "Investing in food safety inspection and consumer protection should be among our top priorities in Congress."
TEXT OF CONGRESSMAN KLEIN'S LETTER:
February 26, 2008
Dear Chairman Peterson, Ranking Member Goodlatte, Chairman Boswell, and Ranking Member Hayes;
As you well know, the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company recently recalled over 143 million pounds of beef which the FSIS determined unfit for human consumption. Not only were the employees of this establishment caught illegally sending non-ambulatory cattle to slaughter, but they were documented abusing the diseased cattle with forklifts prior to slaughter.
Even more alarming, is the failure of meat inspectors to catch these serious violations of USDA regulations before the meat was shipped to major restaurant chains and school lunch programs across the country. The Department of Agriculture has reported that over one third of the 143 million pounds of recalled beef was sent to our National School Lunch Programs, and at least 20 million pounds of that was already consumed. This breakdown in oversight is startling and simply unacceptable.
The failure of government officials to catch these egregious violations beforehand could have had far more severe consequences. Non-ambulatory cattle pose a higher risk of mad cow disease (BSE) and other pathogenic bacteria such as E.coli and Salmonella.
The United States may have the safest food supply in the world, however, as meat packing companies continue to develop new technologies that allow them to produce more meat at a faster rate, we must continually review inspection processes and do our part as appropriators to ensure that the FSIS receives the resources they need to successfully protect American consumers from potentially harmful meat products. That is why I am calling on the House Committee on Agriculture to hold oversight hearings on our national food safety inspection processes to determine why our inspectors were unable to catch these violations before millions of pounds of beef were consumed by children in schools across the country.
I would also like to work with members of the Committee to require public disclosure of retail outlets that have sold recalled meat in "real time," so that consumers can find out whether or not their local grocery store sold the meat in question. This is a common sense measure to ensure that Americans do not consume potentially threatening meat.
The USDA has cleared a rule to require public disclosure of these retail outlets, but the measure has yet to receive the approval of the Office of Management and Budget. I believe that this policy is critical to preventing widespread infection should our meat inspectors fail to catch contaminated meat before it reaches our neighborhood grocery stores.
Americans depend on the government to protect them from products that may pose a threat to their health and their safety. Investing in food safety inspection and consumer protection should be among our top priorities in Congress. I thank you in advance for your consideration of my requests, and look forward to working with you to remedy this serious problem.
Kindest regards,
Ron Klein
Member of Congress
|
