Degette Statement at House Hearing on Salmonella in Peanut Butter

Statement

DEGETTE STATEMENT AT HOUSE HEARING ON SALMONELLA IN PEANUT BUTTER

As the investigation into the salmonella outbreak in peanuts and peanut butter continues, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Vice Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, today offered the following opening statement at the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing, "The Salmonella Outbreak: The Continued Failure to Protect the Food Supply." Last week, Congresswoman DeGette reintroduced two major food safety priorities: the SAFER (Safe and Fair Enforcement & Recall) Food Act gives the FDA and the USDA the authority to force a recall of contaminated foods. Under current law, recalls are completely voluntary even when public health is at risk. The United States is one of the only industrialized countries in the world that lacks this basic recall power, despite having the ability to recall toys and many other products. The TRACE (Tracing and Recalling Agricultural Contamination Everywhere) Act requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to establish a product tracing system for all food products from their origin to the market, enabling faster recall in the event of contamination.

Below are U.S. Rep. DeGette's opening remarks as prepared for delivery:

"We have spent a lot of time together in these food safety hearings. I have been a member of this subcommittee for 12 years now - and since I have been on this subcommittee, this is our 10th hearing on food safety, at which the members of this Oversight and Investigations subcommittee have spent quite a bit of time in a bipartisan way wringing our hands.

"Now, the latest problem, over 500 people have been sickened - 15 of them are in my home state of Colorado, half of the sickened people are children, and 8 have died. This is the deadliest outbreak of food borne illness in decades - but we've seen jalapeno's, peanut butter, meat, peanut butter again, dog food, and on.

"My question to Congress, in general, is how many sick kids does it take for us to finally act? How many more workers need to get laid off before private industry and Congress put resources into protecting the integrity of our food distribution system?

"I cannot think of a case that better demonstrates the need for the FDA and USDA to have mandatory recall authority than this case.

"The Peanut Corporation of America sells in bulk to companies, and those companies manufacture and distribute other processed foods. Even though people started getting sick last summer, current federal law does not empower public health officials to issue a recall in response to an emergency like this.

"My constituents are shocked when they hear this. Instead, companies are left to voluntarily decide for themselves if - and when - to recall their products.

"I know this is not a legislative hearing, but I am sure the parents who are sitting here today would like to know that there are legislators working on these issues. I have reintroduced legislation again this Congress, which I have introduced many times in the past, that would finally give the government mandatory recall authority. The good news is that it is supported not only by the regulators, but also by industry.

"I think when we pass comprehensive food safety legislation, finally, the FDA and USDA will have mandatory recall authority.

"The second bill I have reintroduced this year, which I have introduced in the past as well, is the TRACE Act. What this bill does is creates a comprehensive traceability system so we can trace where the peanuts came from to where they end up - in those little peanut butter crackers our children eat - and we can recall it right away. That problem was a particular problem last year with the outbreak of salmonella in jalapenos.

"I am happy to report that Mr. Dingell and Mr. Stupak have included my mandatory recall and traceability language in their comprehensive FDA Globalization Act. I am also happy to report that the regulators support traceability, and that the manufacturers are beginning to understand this situation.

"I look forward to working with you Mr. Chairman, and Chairman Waxman on moving forward to develop comprehensive food safety legislation."

Earlier this month, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Emeritus John Dingell (D-MI), introduced the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009 along with Chairman Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ). The measure includes a mandatory recall provision and traceability language built upon U.S. Rep. DeGette's legislation. U.S. Rep. DeGette's food safety priorities have been endorsed by the Washington Post and the New York Times.

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