GLICKMAN UNVEILS PROPOSED LAW TO STRENGTHEN MEAT, POULTRY RECALLS
     
                                                               
                                            Release No. 0297.97
                                                               
                                   Jim Petterson (202) 720-4623
                                         jim.petterson@usda.gov
                                   Jacque Knight (202) 720-9113
                                            jacque.lee@usda.gov
                                                               

GLICKMAN UNVEILS PROPOSED LAW TO STRENGTHEN MEAT, POULTRY RECALLS
     
     WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 1997--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
unveiled proposed legislation designed to provide consumers better
protection from meat and poultry products that may be contaminated.

     "USDA needs more authority to act quickly and decisively to remove
suspect products from the marketplace," Glickman said at a press conference
to discuss his proposed bill, "The Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act
of 1997." 

     Specifically, Glickman's bill would authorize the Secretary of
Agriculture to do the following: 
     
    stop the distribution and order the recall of adulterated or
     misbranded meat and poultry in situations that pose a reasonable
     probability of a threat to public health;' 
     
    refuse or withdraw inspection based on any willful or repeated
     violation of federal meat or poultry laws; and

    impose civil monetary penalties for violations of the meat and poultry
     laws.

     "Our proposal will enable us to ensure that the industry adheres to
the high food safety standards the Clinton Administration is implementing,"
Glickman said.  "Giving me the power to impose fines on violators, order
recalls and halt operations by withdrawing federal meat inspectors from
plants that willfully or repeatedly violate food safety laws will put more
teeth in our oversight over th industry and better help protect consumers."

     Glickman's proposal follows this month's recall of 25 million pounds
of ground beef made at the Hudson Foods Company's Columbus, Nebraska meat
processing plant.  Frozen hamburger patties from the plant were found to be
contaminated with E.coli O157:H7 and the cause of an outbreak of foodborne
illness in Colorado. USDA is continuing its investigation of record keeping
and manufacturing practices in Hudson's Columbus, Nebraska plant.

     "The implications of this recall have led us to ask Congress for
prompt approval of this legislation," Glickman said.   "I also call on
Congress to fund fully the President's food safety initiative.  In addition,
USDA will continue to look at food safety issues concerning the reprocessing
of meat products from one shift to another, the use of microbiological
testing and lessons learned from the recent recall."

     Glickman said the proposed legislation would strengthen USDA's
authority under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products
Inspection Act.  USDA now has no authority to require product recalls in the
event of contamination.  USDA relies on voluntary recalls.  Mandatory recall
authority would speed up the process and permit the department to take more
effective action to head off bad production practices that could endanger
public health.  
                                

     "Currently, companies can try to get recalls on their terms instead of
ours," Glickman said.  This legislation will permit USDA to move more
quickly to protect the public from food products contaminated with dangerous
bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7."  


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