WASHINGTON - Four Democratic senators proposed legislation on to let the Agriculture Department impose stiff fines on meat packing plants, after a series of meat contamination outbreaks and recalls this year.
The bill, which responds to President Clinton's request last month for Congress to tighten up meat and poultry safety regulations, would allow fines of up to $100,000 per day for violations.
Although the United States is deemed to still have the safest food supply in the world, consumer groups, lawmakers and the Clinton administration have pressed for stricter laws to protect the public.
Meat industry groups have vowed to oppose any legislation giving the USDA additional authority, but bill sponsor Sen. Tom Harkin said he believed there was room for compromise to win industry support.
"This bill is responsible, it's moderate and it moves us ahead," the Iowa Democrat said. "I don't think there is anything in there that we cannot work out (with the industry)."
The legislation would give the Agriculture Secretary the authority to order a recall of any meat or poultry suspected of being contaminated. Currently, the secretary must persuade a meat company to order the recall.
Action on the bill, introduced by half the Democrats on the Senate Agriculture committee, is not expected this year.
Meat and cattle groups contend that the USDA already has all the power it needs because the agency can pull federal meat inspectors from a plant, effectively shutting it down.
The Grocery Manufacturers of America said the legislation added unnecessary bureaucracy that doesn't help meat companies better understand food contamination.
"Instead of promoting food fear, the government should protect the public and create food confidence by enforcing the existing rules, developing a better scientific understanding of pathogens and more effectively encouraging proper food handling throughout the food chain," the group said in a statement.
The proposed legislation would give USDA the ability to levy civil fines of up to $100,000 per day against meat plants. The bill would also require anyone in the meat supply chain -- from employees at the slaughterhouse to kitchen staff in a restaurant -- to notify USDA of any "reasonable basis" for knowing that meat or poultry is contaminated.
The Senate panel will hold a hearing Wednesday on food safety. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman is scheduled to testify, along with experts on food irradiation and electronic pasteurization -- techniques that have won support from some consumer groups because of this year's food poisoning cases.
The proposed legislation does not address the industry practice of "reworking" meat, or recycling hamburger left at the end of one day into product batches on the following day.
That practice was blamed for the record 25 million pound recall ordered last month by Hudson Foods Inc, after several Colorado consumers became sick from meat contaminated with the E.coli 0157:H7 strain, a potentially deadly bacteria. Hudson ordered the recall at the request of the USDA.
Another firm, BeefAmerica Inc, recalled some 450,000 pounds of tainted hamburger last week, and South Korea complained of finding E.coli in 18 tons of U.S. beef last month.
Harkin and Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, who held a news conference to announce the bill, said U.S. meat safety laws have been virtually untouched since 1906.
"We need this bill to reassure consumers," Leahy said. "It's not unreasonable to think that every century or so we ought to update our meat safety laws."
E. coli O157:H7, an especially virulent strain of the bacteria, can cause kidney failure and death in children and elderly.
U.S. meatpackers are required to conduct a test for every 300 head slaughtered to see if any E. coli strain was present. USDA officials have said the rate of E.coli contamination is miniscule compared to the volume of beef consumed, with only nine confirmed cases out of some 16,000 inspections.
E.coli can be destroyed by cooking meat above 170 degrees Fahrenheit, or by irradiation treatment with gamma rays. But the latter technique has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use on red meat.
Clinton has also said he would seek similar legislation expanding the power of the FDA, which inspects imported fruits and vegetables.
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