Hi Jeff ,
I wanted to thank you and all the others in keeping us informed with all information you guys gather from th food industry and also Cylopss.
Here is an article from reuters:
Consumer Group Pushes Food Safety Law
3.27 p.m. ET (2027 GMT) February 5, 1998
By Julie Vorman,
WASHINGTON - A consumer group launched a grassroots
campaign Wednesday to try and win bipartisan support for a
Clinton Administration bill giving the U.S. Agriculture Department
the power to recall tainted meat.
The bill, introduced last October by Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a
Democrat, has mustered little support on the Senate Agriculture
Committee because of fierce opposition by the meat industry.
Meat industry groups have attacked the bill as unnecessary, given
the USDA's existing powers and its ability to alert the public to any
meat or poultry suspected of contamination.
Senate Agriculture committee chairman Sen. Richard Lugar, an
Indiana Republican, has said he opposed the legislation but
remained open to forming a consensus bill of some type to address
food safety issues.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest said it hoped to deluge
Senate Agriculture committee members with Internet messages,
letters and telephone calls from the public in support of adoption of
a law that would give the USDA mandatory recall authority over
meat and poultry plants. The bill would also let the USDA assess
civil penalties against violators.
Currently, the USDA can pull federal inspectors from plants
suspected of producing bad meat - a drastic step which effectively
closes a plant - but the department can only encourage the
company to order a recall.
Last August, Hudson Foods recalled a record 25 million pounds of
hamburger at the urging of the USDA after several consumers
became sick from the meat.
"These are such common-sense protections," Caroline Smith
DeWaal said at a news conference. "Change is hard for the industry
but the public is demanding steps to make the food supply safer."
Harkin said he remained optimistic that the legislation would be
adopted during what is a relatively short congressional session
before recessing for the November elections.
"I believe we will get bipartisan support for enhanced food safety
legislation this year," Harkin told Reuters after the news conference.
"What we're asking for is really very, very modest."
The consumer activist group said it also was lobbying for a bill that
would give the Food and Drug Administration power to order
mandatory recalls of contaminated seafood, eggs, fruits and
vegetables. A third piece of pending legislation would create a new
federal food safety agency to replace the dozen or so units of the
USDA, FDA, Centers for Disease Control and other departments
that have some food safety jurisdiction.
Neither of the latter two bills is viewed as having enough support to
win approval this session, according to congressional aides.
The U.S. food supply is widely acknowledged to be the safest in
the world, but some 9,000 Americans die each year from
food-borne illnesses, according to the government. Illnesses caused
by food contaminated with salmonella, E. coli or other bacteria
cause an estimated $300 million in economic losses annually.
The White House has asked Congress for an additional $101 million
in fiscal 1999 to hire more food inspectors and expand research into
bacteria that cause food-borne illness.
BTW: Hope all of you guys who are going to Vegas have a great time and
good luck with the Black Jack. All the efforts you guys put in does not go unnoticed. It will all pay off soon......
Regards,
Sri. |
