DeLauro Statement at FSIS Hearing

Statement

DeLauro Statement at FSIS Hearing

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3), chair of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, delivered the following opening statement during a subcommittee hearing on the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

"The hearing will come to order. I want to welcome Dr. Raymond. I believe this is your second hearing before this subcommittee. Glad to have you here. I also want to welcome Acting Administrator, Dr. Goldman.

"With all of the food safety challenges we are facing, especially this past year, I do not have to remind everyone about the critical mission of the Food Safety and Inspection Service. We at this subcommittee have an obligation to make sure FSIS has the resources and is well prepared to carry out that mission and protect our nation's food supply.

"As we all know, this past year has presented us with numerous crises regarding food safety. From the E. coli and salmonella outbreaks to the numerous recalls, warnings and advisories, I am afraid that consumers have begun to lose confidence in our food safety system and question whether it is adequate to protect them. As such, we should not have been too surprised when earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office designated the federal oversight of food safety as a high-risk area for the first time in the history of such designations - the GAO report also was the subject of the first hearing this subcommittee convened this year.

"While the investigations into the major food-borne illness outbreaks involving spinach, Taco Bell and peanut butter were not under your jurisdiction, it was still a busy year for FSIS.

"Given all of these developments, I am particularly interested in the agency's major proposals in this area - the move toward the implementation of a risk-based inspection system at meat and poultry processing plants, and the announcement that the agency was drafting a proposed rule that would allow domestic Chinese chicken to be imported into the U.S. In my view, these proposals warrant careful consideration before moving into the implementation phase. Moving ahead with both plans right now would do more harm than good to food safety in our country.

"While I am VERY supportive of the concept of considering risk when regulating public health issues, an RBI system should be based on meaningful scientific data in order to rank product risk and determine establishment risk. It seems to me that USDA currently lacks this data and that moving forward with this system right now would be misguided and potentially dangerous.

"I have raised concerns with the IG and the Deputy Secretary when they testified before the subcommittee earlier this month and I should point out that I am not alone in my concerns. We know that even the meat industry has expressed concern about the timing of the plan and is urging USDA to slow down. And consumer groups have stressed that FSIS must slow down the implementation of RBI until certain fundamental issues are resolved. Clearly, it is a rare occurrence when these groups agree with one another on policy issues.

"In addition, I find it interesting that on the FSIS web site, you have included quotes from a variety of people who have expressed support for the RBI system. But, while many of the individuals quoted indicate support for the RBI concept, their statements of support do not include support for the immediate implementation of the system. For instance, there is a quote from Caroline Smith DeWaal from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in support of RBI. But what the quote omits is her belief that RBI should at the very minimum allow for a public comment period. Based on this criteria, you could have included a quote from me on the FSIS web site also.

"Throughout this process, you have assured the many stakeholders that you would take a transparent approach toward the RBI debate. I could not agree with you more on this point. So I was very concerned when I learned that you intended to convene a so-called ‘Food Safety Summit' next week that was only going to include invited participants. But I have since been informed that you have reconsidered and now will open the meeting to the public, and I thank you for that.

"I will not detail all of my concerns right now about the RBI system because I want to save some for discussion later. But before I close, I want to mention the rule that allows U.S. chickens to be process in China and imported back into the U.S.

"Although the department argues that there is no imminent threat of avian flu because the chicken will be processed, there are few controls in place within China to assure this. I understand that FSIS inspectors found horrifying conditions in a number of Chinese plants, while the agency only promises to inspect the plants that export to the U.S. once a year.

"What is even more troubling to me is the fact that FSIS now is in the process of drafting a rule that would allow domestic Chinese chicken to be imported to the U.S.

"Dr. Raymond, I cannot really grasp the thinking behind this and why this is even being considered given the horrifying conditions that FSIS inspectors encountered, and the recent reports that China designated a number of processing facilities to be inspection-free. We must re-examine this policy.

"Finally, about the budget - it again proposes new user fees for FSIS and I do not think I need to remind you that this Committee does not have thee authority to legislate new fees. However, we do appreciate that you did not count on fee collections in 2008 to be part of your funding resources. I am also concerned that FSIS nearly ran out of funding in 2006 and needed a huge increase over the 2007 request to keep going. I want you to know that in light of this, we will be scrutinizing every dollar spent to see whether it directly contributes to public health.

"So, Dr. Raymond, we have some very interesting topics to go over today and I look forward to the discussion."

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