 991227 USDA Should Require Listeria Testing Of MeatDecember 10, 1999 Washington - U.S. meat plants that make ready-to-eat foods should be required to test their products for illness-causing listeria to protect consumers, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee said. Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin urged USDA to mandate the testing as part of a comprehensive program to curb listeria monocytogenes. The bacteria, commonly found in the air and water, are harmless to most healthy people but can be deadly to pregnant women, the elderly, chemotherapy patients and others with weak immune systems. One-fifth of the estimated 2,500 Americans sickened annually with listeria die from the disease, according to federal health data. After several outbreaks of listeria earlier this year, the USDA ordered all 1,100 U.S. meat processing plants to review their food safety checkpoints to prevent contamination. The government also urged consumers at risk to thoroughly cook hot dogs and deli meat to avoid listeria. But the USDA needs to do more, Harkin said in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. “It seems pointless to have a bacteria control policy if we don't have adequate testing to find out whether it is working,” said Harkin, the top Democrat on the Senate panel that oversees much of the USDA's activities. “Because listeria tends to be ubiquitous in the processing plant environment, I believe that USDA needs to mandate both environmental and end- product testing for listeria in plants manufacturing ready-to-eat products,” he added. A USDA spokeswoman said the department welcomed “any additional input or ideas” to help improve food safety. Testing is generally opposed by the industry which contends it is an expensive, time-consuming procedure that does little to make food safer for consumers. Because the USDA has a “zero tolerance” policy for listeria in processed meat, any products tested and found to contain the bacteria must be destroyed. As part of the voluntary guidelines issued by the USDA last summer, meat processing plants were encouraged to test for listeria in order to verify that their food safety procedures were working. USDA meat inspectors have been evaluating each plant's food safety checkpoints, and whether the procedures have been verified through testing. Harkin introduced unsuccessful legislation earlier this year to give USDA the authority to order a recall of any contaminated meat or poultry products, and to levy civil fines for violations of food safety laws.
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