000509 U.S. to Tighten Safety Measures for Hot Dogs

Washington - The Clinton administration announced a plan to require the meat processing industry to use tests to fight the deadly listeria bug in hot dogs and other ready-to-eat meats.

The bacteria, which thrives in refrigerated temperatures, has been linked to dozens of recalls in recent months, including sausages, chicken burritos, chicken salad, and lunch meat.

Listeria does not typically harm healthy adults, but it can cause nausea, fever and headaches in young children, the elderly and others with weak immune systems. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women, who can suffer miscarriages.

President Clinton unveiled the new food safety measures during his weekly radio speech last week.

He asked USDA to issue proposed rules by the end of the summer requiring meat processing plants to test for listeria contamination in equipment and along the production line.

It remained unclear, however, if the government-mandated testing would also apply to the packaged end-product.

Consumer groups have urged the USDA for more than a year to require end- product testing, contending that is a key way to evaluate if plant food safety procedures are working properly.

The meat processing industry has generally opposed efforts to require end- product testing as expensive and inconclusive. Packages of hot dogs, sausages and other prepared meats could be contaminated with listeria at the grocery store or in a consumer's own refrigerator, they contend.

Because the USDA has a so-called “zero tolerance” policy for listeria in processed meat, any products tested and found to contain the bacteria must be destroyed.

The president will also direct the USDA to ask for public comment on whether ready-to-eat meat should carry labels warning at-risk consumers to thoroughly cook the product.

Consumer activists praised the administration's latest measures as evidence of a White House commitment to make the U.S. food supply safer.

“I strongly endorse their goals. They are taking some steps in the right direction,” said Carol Tucker Foreman, director of food policy for the Consumer Federation of America.

“What the industry is doing now obviously isn't working well because they keep having outbreaks of listeria,” she added.

The government action will also subject the meat processing industry to its first mandatory microbial tests.

“Currently, no U.S. meat processing plants are required to do any type of microbial testing to verify the safety of their products,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety expert with the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Meat slaughter plants -- which handle the carcasses of cattle and pigs -- are already required to test for foodborne bugs.

Industry officials said they welcomed the new steps, adding that many companies have similar tests in place.

“This appears to mandate something that a large portion of the industry has already been doing for a while,” said Jenny Scott, director of food safety programs for the National Food Processors Association.

The trade group recently surveyed its member companies -- which include many non-meat processors -- and found that more than 90% of them already test conditions along the production line for listeria contamination. Some companies are also testing packaged end-products, she said.

The survey results will be presented at a public meeting the USDA is holding later this month on listeria policies.

The administration began assessing its listeria regulations after an outbreak in late 1998 in hot dogs made by Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE:SLE - news). The contamination was blamed for 21 deaths and more than 100 illnesses in 22 states.

An estimated 2,500 cases of listeria occur annually in the United States, a relatively small number compared to other foodborne bugs. But listeria ranks among the most serious, with most sickened consumers requiring hospitalization and 20% of patients dying.

While recalls of listeria contamination in processed meat products have received the most media attention, the bacteria has also prompted recalls of packaged salads, cheese, smoked fish, chocolate milk and other non-meat foods.

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