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One disaster after another - our food system is broken

NEWS RELEASES CONGRESSMAN BART STUPAK 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN ************************* Stupak on food safety WASHINGTON - U.S.
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NEWS RELEASES

CONGRESSMAN BART STUPAK 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

************************* Stupak on food safety

WASHINGTON - U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (Democrat-Michigan), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on oversight and investigations, held a hearing yestertday on the role of the private sector in ensuring the safety of the American food supply.

The hearing, titled "Contaminated Food: Private Sector Accountability," is the fifth food safety hearing Stupak has held in the past 14 months.

Stupak delivered the following statement:

"Today we hold the fifth subcommittee hearing on the safety of our nation's food supply."

"Although it was purely coincidental that this hearing was set before the largest beef recall in American history, it is not a coincidence that recalls of this magnitude are escalating."

"Since starting our investigation, Americans have witnessed one food safety disaster after another."

In the last 18 months:

- In August and September 2006, E. coli in bagged spinach sickened 204 people and killed three.

- In September 2006, Salmonella found in tomatoes sickened 183 people.

- In December 2006, lettuce contaminated with E. coli at Taco Bell and Taco John restaurants sickened 152 people.

- In February 2007, Peter Pan peanut butter contaminated with Salmonella sickened 425 people.

- In February and March 2007, 100 brands of tainted pet food were recalled after sickening and killing thousands of pets.

- In June 2007, Veggie Booty snacks contaminated with Salmonella caused 65 illnesses.

- In July 2007, 90 canned food products with botulism contamination were recalled after sickening eight people.

- In August 2007, almost one year after the last spinach E. coli outbreak, another nationwide recall of fresh spinach occurred following discovery of Salmonella in a test batch.

- In October 2007, frozen pot pies carrying Salmonella were recalled after illnesses were reported in 31 States.

- In September 2007, nearly 22 million pounds of beef were recalled after E. coli contamination was found.

- Finally, just over a week ago, nearly 144 million pounds of beef were recalled by Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Company after being determined to be unfit for human consumption.

"Our food safety system is broken."

"So-called voluntary compliance-relying on the food industry to place safety before profits-does not appear to be working."

"The budgets and regulatory policies of this Administration have crippled both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)."

"In fact, some 76 million Americans - one out of every four - are affected each year by illness from contaminated food."

"Since sickness from contaminated food is largely preventable, this committee has actively pushed the public and private sectors to focus on preventing this epidemic."

"What have we learned so far?"

"We have found a fragmented food safety system suffering from woefully inadequate resources, inconsistent oversight, and ineffective coordination."

"In December the FDA's own science board report noted that FDA's food safety program has put American lives at risk and the FDA 'does not have the capacity to ensure the safety of food for the nation.'"

"We have also learned that the problem is not limited to just the FDA."

"The once vaunted USDA seal of wholesomeness can no longer be relied upon to protect consumers."

"USDA, despite having about four times the food safety budget of FDA and a network of inspectors in many, if not all, meat processing facilities, is also failing to protect Americans."

"Last week's extraordinary recall of over 143 million pounds of beef by Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Company follows more than 20 other beef recalls in the preceding 12 months - nearly two meat recalls per month."

"My colleagues and I are fully aware that product recalls by the USDA do not indicate success; rather each recall means that the system has failed."

"Recalls tell us that contaminated beef made it into the marketplace, restaurants, schools and our kitchen tables."

"Last fall's hearing drew attention to a 22 million pound recall that included beef packed in carbon monoxide, deceiving consumers into thinking that the meat was fresh, wholesome, and free of contaminants."

"I am troubled to tell my colleagues that despite our investigation and despite one major retailer's request to label their meat as having been packed with carbon monoxide, the USDA is still refusing to allow retailers to label their meat as such."

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