[598] in Vegetarian_Support_Group
meat inspection legislation
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (elsiedee@MIT.EDU)
Thu Jun 8 16:36:37 1995
From: elsiedee@MIT.EDU
To: vsg@MIT.EDU
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 1995 16:34:58 EDT
------- Forwarded Message
From: DHARMADUDE@delphi.com
Date: Wed, 07 Jun 1995 14:24:23 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Meat Safety Rules In Limbo
To: ar-news@cygnus.com
New Meat Safety Rules In Limbo
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Agriculture Department's plan to require closer
inspection of meat and poultry drew criticism from meat packers and praise
from victims offood poisoning Wednesday. But Congress may have the last word.
Legislation designed to roll back federal regulations could block the meat and
poultry rules before they take effect.
That would be a relief to processors who say the rules would be too expensive
and restrictive. But it angers people who were sickened by tainted meat.
``It's ridiculous that in this day and age they don't have a better inspection
system,'' said Laura Day, who suffered severe food poisoning and traveled from
Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
The department is gathering public comment until Monday, and hopes to issue
final rules by the year's end. They would be phased in over three years.
Under the proposed rules, meat and poultry plants would have to use
microscopes to test food samples for bacteria and use special rinses and
temperature controls to reduce contamination. Eventually, they would be
required to keep salmonella bacteria under a set amount.
The current system relies on inspectors who feel, smell and look at animal and
bird carcasses for signs of contamination. They cannot detect microbes,
including salmonella and E. coli bacteria, that kill an estimated 4,000 to
9,000 people each year.
The American Meat Institute, representing meat and turkey packers, says the
system should be modernized but opposes the Agriculture Department plan.``It
layers hundreds of millions of dollars in new inspection requirements over an
old system that we all agree needs an overhaul,'' institute President Patrick
Boyle said in his prepared testimony.
The Agriculture Department estimates if the cost were passed on to consumers,
it would amount to one cent per five pounds of meat. But some small meat
packers say the cost of compliance would shut them down.
The industry has taken its worries to the Republican-controlled Congress,
which is trying to reduce regulation.
The House passed a one-year freeze on new regulations, including the meat
safety rules. The Senate passed a weaker regulatory reform bill, and a
conference committee is expected to seek compromise.
Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., chairman of the House regulatory affairs
subcommittee, wants a moratorium on the meat rules as part of that compromise.
``The small processors simply can't withstand the crushing burden of red
tape,'' said Chris Jones, McIntosh's spokesman
Another bill, passed by the House and pending in theSenate, would require
elaborate cost-benefit studies of new rules and make it easier for industry to
challenge the rules in court.
Either bill would need the signature of President Clinton, who supports modest
deregulation but has cautioned against cutting health and safety rules.
Day spent 42 days in a hospital after being infected by the E. coli O157:H7
bacteria in fall 1993. In her testimony, the 19-year-old college student said
her case went unnoticed by the local health department.
``No one tabulated how my medical bills have driven my family into financial
ruin,'' she said. ``No one counted how much energy and pain and praying it
took to fight may way back from death. These are things that never show up on
anyone's computer model, anyone's risk assessment, anyone's incidence
reports.''
AP-NY-05-31-95 1608EDT AP ONLINEThe Associated Press Online News
ServiceCopyright 1995, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved.
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