Release No. 0362.96 Johna Pierce (202) 720-4623 Jacque Knight (202) 720-9113 PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES NEW FOOD SAFETY RULES TO PROTECT CONSUMERS WASHINGTON, July 6, 1996--President Bill Clinton today announced sweeping reform of federal food safety rules for meat and poultry. The new rules will modernize a 90-year-old inspection program and fulfill the Clinton administration's broad commitment to protecting the public's health by improving food safety. The rules replace a system based on sight and smell with more scientific methods and will, for the first time, require plants that slaughter and process meat and poultry to target and reduce harmful bacteria on their products. President Clinton said, "Our families have every right to expect that the food they serve their children is safe. They have every right to expect that the world's most bountiful food supply would be the world's safest. We have a national responsibility to protect the safety of the food we eat. We have learned that we must all be vigilant." "This regulation updates a 90-year-old system for meat and poultry inspection developed before many of our grandparents were even born," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman at a White House press conference. "Today, consumers purchasing meat and poultry inspected by USDA will have the assurance that their food has been inspected using the most modern, the most scientific methods available. "This is the fundamental change in meat and poultry inspection called for by the National Academy of Sciences and many other experts throughout government, industry, and the consumer community," Glickman said. "The power of the new HACCP-based food safety system is that it scientifically targets the important hazards and builds the public health principle of prevention into every meat and poultry production process." The four major elements of the new rules are:  Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP, an acronym pronounced "HAS-SIP") -- Every plant must adopt and carry out its own HACCP plan that systematically addresses all the significant hazards associated with its products. The effectiveness of the HACCP plan must be demonstrated by the plant and will be continually verified by inspectors from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.  Mandatory E.coli testing in slaughter plants -- Every slaughter plant must regularly test carcasses for generic E. coli to verify the effectiveness of the plant's procedures for preventing and reducing fecal contamination, which is the major source of contamination with harmful bacteria like E.coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella. Generic E.coli is the best microbial indicator of the process control of fecal contamination.  Pathogen Reduction Performance Standards for Salmonella -- All slaughter plants and plants producing raw ground products must ensure that their Salmonella contamination rate is below the current national baseline incidence. This first ever regulatory performance standard for a pathogen on raw meat and poultry will ensure real progress in reducing harmful bacteria. USDA will begin comprehensive Salmonella testing this summer and enforce the Salmonella standards in conjunction with implementation of HACCP.  Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) -- As the foundation for HACCP, every plant must adopt and carry out a written plan for meeting its sanitation responsibilities. Effective sanitation in slaughter and processing plants is essential to preventing direct adulteration of meat and poultry products. The new system will be phased in beginning this summer with USDA's Salmonella testing program, followed early next year by implementation of the sanitation SOP and E. coli testing requirements. The HACCP system will be implemented first in the larger meat and poultry plants, with 75 percent of slaughter production to be under HACCP-based process control and subject to Salmonella performance standards within 18 months. Small plants will have 30 months to comply with HACCP, and very small plants (ones having fewer than 10 employees or less than $2.5 million in annual sales) will have 42 months. "We will make the transition to the new system as rapidly as possible," said Michael R. Taylor, Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety. "Our implementation schedule takes into account both the public health importance of the new rules and the time it will take to bring about such fundamental changes within our own program and within an enormously complex and diverse industry." USDA estimates that as many as 4,000 deaths and 5,000,000 illnesses result annually from the consumption of meat and poultry contaminated with four major bacterial pathogens: Salmonella, Campylobacter, E.coli 0157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes. The new rules apply to over 6,200 slaughter and processing plants that operate under federal inspection. The same or equivalent requirements will apply to state-inspected meat and poultry plants and to foreign plants that export to the United States. "We cannot totally eliminate harmful bacteria. People will still have to properly handle and cook their fresh meat and poultry," said Taylor. "Our new system will substantially reduce harmful contamination and reduce the risk of illness for American consumers." The FSIS "farm-to-table" food safety strategy for meat and poultry also includes collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration to set and enforce standards designed to minimize growth of harmful bacteria during transportation and storage. The strategy calls for cooperation between state and Federal food safety agencies to improve food safety standards and practices in retail and food service establishments, such as restaurants and grocery stores. # Editor's Note: In December 1995, the Food and Drug Administration adopted rules to require HACCP systems in the seafood processing industry. In January 1996, Vice President Gore's National Performance Review reported on the administration's comprehensive effort to reform and improve food regulation. USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov