Senate Leadership
March 10, 2008
Williams and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro Say Consumers Have a Right to Know Where Contaminated Food is Distributed
Senate Democrats’ Proposal Would Help Protect Families When Meat is Recalled
Senator Williams and Congresswoman Rosa Delauro held a news conference announcing a proposal for measures to protect families when meat is recalled. Also pictured are Dr. M.C. “Cub” Culbertson from the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, and Adria Giordano and her daughter Francesca from West Hartford. (March 10, 2008)
State Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) and U.S. Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3), chairwoman of the House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, held a news conference today to call attention to inadequate food safety and recall procedures, and to propose improvements. Medical Director of the Connecticut Children's Medical Center (CCMC) Emergency Department Professor Dr. MC "Cub" Culbertson, and Connecticut Poison Control Center Community Education Specialist Amy Hanoian-Fontana also attended.
Currently, state and local health departments cannot inform the public about which retail establishments or restaurants receive tainted meat or poultry. Retail information has long been considered confidential business information, and as a result, retail stores are not identified in the recall process.
Because meat can be repackaged and sold with various labels, consumer products will rarely match the recalled description or information, except in instances when the meat is sold under a brand name. This system ends up preventing consumers from finding out if they have purchased contaminated meat.
"Families have a right to know where recalled meat was distributed," said Senator Williams. "This system built on secrets keeps consumers in the dark and puts families at risk."
Dr. Culbertson said, "Biologically and chemically tainted food products can cause significant morbidity and mortality. This is truly a public health issue, and deserves public discussion."
While U.S. Rep. DeLauro fights to strengthen federal law in this regard, Senator Williams is proposing legislation that will help protect Connecticut consumers by keeping them better informed about meat recalls.
The legislation has three components:
1. Report: Requiring meat and poultry suppliers, distributors, brokers and processors that sell meat or poultry-related products in Connecticut to: a.Immediately notify the state Department of Public Health (DPH) of products they handle that are subject to a voluntary recall by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and b.Provide DPH with a list of customers (including retailers, restaurants and schools) that have received or will receive any product subject to recall, as well as any identifying information about the products (identifying codes, establishment numbers, package codes, product codes, pack dates, and lot numbers)
2. Authorize DPH to:
- Notify appropriate local health officials
- Notify the public of Class I and II product recalls (in a manner deemed appropriate after consultation with local health officials)
3. Warn: Require retail establishments to post "point of sale warnings" to the public for products they sell that are subject to a USDA recall
"The historic Hallmark/Westland recall clearly demonstrates the multi faceted problem that USDA is facing, and I am deeply concerned that it also demonstrates just how far our food safety system has collapsed," said DeLauro. "This massive recall is further reason why we need to finally streamline the system and create a single food safety agency. In the meantime, when a recall occurs, there is no reason why consumers should not be informed which retailers are receiving potentially contaminated food products. It is illogical that the measure to release this information has languished at the U.S. Department of Agriculture for two years, which is why I pressed the Agriculture Secretary to expedite this effort and raised the issue again last week with the agency's Under Secretary for food safety. I commend Senator Williams for his efforts to Connecticut's families, however, states should not be forced to find loopholes in the system in order to protect consumers."
Food recalls are voluntary and the USDA has no authority to compel companies to carry them out. And federal law may pre-empt state agencies from compelling companies to comply with food recalls (except for baby formula). It comes as little surprise then, that according to an April 2007 United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the USDA does not know how promptly or completely companies remove potentially unsafe food from the shelves. In addition, the report indicates that the USDA has inadequate procedures for notifying the public about recalled items.
"The more helpful information we can tell callers the better," says Amy Hanoian-Fontana, who helps residents who are looking for accurate information related to food safety concerns. "Often callers have heard part of the recall, but not the whole story. We allay the public's fears by walking callers through resources for recall information and assessing patients on a case by case basis."
Food safety failures pose a growing risk to families, especially children and the elderly. The USDA issued 52 meat recalls in 2007 alone, including one of more than 20 million pounds. Last September, 21.7 million pounds of Topps Meat ground beef was recalled after at least 30 people were sickened from meat contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Each year about 76 million people contract a food-borne illness in the U.S. Of those who become sick, approximately 325,000 require hospitalization and 5,000 die.
Just three weeks ago, on February 18, 2008, the Agriculture Department recommended the largest meat recall in its history--143 million pounds of beef from Hallmark Meat Packing, distributed by Westland Packing. About 37 million pounds of the meat--cuts, ground beef and prepared products such as meatballs and burrito filling--went to school lunch and other public nutrition programs, and "almost all of this product is likely to have been consumed," said Ron Vogel, a USDA administrator. Some larger purchasers, though, may keep meat for as long as a year.
Despite the threat to public safety, the USDA refused to release the names of retail outlets and school districts that had received the meat. Perhaps most disturbing is the fact that this Hallmark/Westland plant was the second-largest meat supplier to the National School Lunch Program: 37 million pounds of the recalled meat was originally estimated to have gone to the program.
The USDA is currently considering a rule change to allow public disclosure of retail consignees. Dr. Richard Raymond, USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety made this statement in 2006: "We believe that publishing a list of retail establishments that have received products subject to recall will help consumers more easily determine if they purchased recalled product."
California enacted a law in 2007 which allows state officials to release the name of retail consignees to the public. Residents of California are able to obtain information regarding the retail consignees that receive possibly tainted meat.
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