000544 US Food Safety Tests Dealt Setback by Judge

Washington - A federal judge struck down USDA’s food safety tests to detect salmonella contamination in a ground beef processing plant, saying they did not fairly measure the sanitary conditions of the plant.

The landmark ruling in favor of Supreme Beef Processing Inc. was a blow to the USDA's food safety program, which was revamped four years ago to use more scientific testing and checkpoints to monitor meat and poultry.

The salmonella tests are routinely used by USDA to verify that a plant's food safety program is working. When Supreme Beef flunked three sets of tests late last year, USDA tried to close down the plant.

The judge blocked the USDA in December from closing Supreme Beef's Texas plant after the grinding plant failed the tests.

US Judge Joe Fish of Dallas said he agreed with Supreme Beef's contention that USDA's salmonella tests were not an accurate gauge of whether a plant was clean. Raw meat purchased from slaughter houses for grinding into hamburgers can be already contaminated when entering a plant, Supreme Beef said.

“Because the USDA performance standards and salmonella tests do not necessarily evaluate the conditions of a meat processor's establishment, they cannot serve as the basis for finding a plant's meat adulterated,” Fish wrote. “Indeed, a plant could, in theory, be completely sanitized from top to bottom, but if the meat in it tests positive for salmonella, the USDA could withdraw its inspectors, effectively closing a plant that is sanitary,” he added. The judge said he did not address food safety standards.

“The issue in this case is not whether salmonella and other pathogens in meat is desirable or acceptable,” Fish wrote. Instead, the court case hinged on whether the USDA can declare a plant unsanitary based on salmonella testing, he added.

Salmonella can cause diarrhea in healthy adults, and can be deadly for young children, the elderly and others with weak immune systems. Last year, 600 Americans died from salmonella out of an estimated 1.4 million illnesses, according to federal health data.

The tests are part of the USDA's 1996 broad changes in food safety regulations to require meat processing plants to adopt a series of scientifically based checkpoints to reduce the risk of salmonella, E. coli 0157:H7 and other dangerous bacteria. Similar rules are in effect for slaughter plants.

Supreme Beef, backed by some other meat companies, said the USDA salmonella standards were unfair and arbitrary. The tests allow a 7.5% rate of contamination of ground beef, but much higher levels for raw chicken and turkey.

The USDA indicated it will likely appeal the ruling.

“We will take whatever legal steps are necessary to overturn this wrong decision,” Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said in a statement. “Today's decision threatens to turn back the clock on the significant progress this administration and many in industry have made to improve food safety for all Americans.”

Activist groups criticized the decision as jeopardizing the health of consumers. “The decision strips authority from the federal government to enforce limits on harmful bacteria in ground meat and poultry products and may cause contaminated ground beef to reach consumers,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “This decision leaves the shell, but cuts out the heart of USDA's efforts to prevent food poisoning.”

A dozen meat and food trade groups urged the USDA to take another look at salmonella tests, and seek views from industry, consumers and academics on rewriting the food safety standard.

“There will always be a role for testing to determine if things are working properly,” said Dane Bernard, a food safety expert with the National Food Processors Association. “But if you're testing for something that is not completely within the plant's control, then maybe you ought not to pull the plug on a plant if you find it.”

Supreme Beef said it was committed to making safe ground beef. “This case was not really about food safety, but about a bad policy,” said Steven Spiritas, president of the privately owned company. “Except for our concerns about USDA's improper enforcement policy, we have strongly supported the new government food safety inspection program.”

The Supreme Beef plant produces 500,000 pounds of ground beef daily for many customers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Until the court battle began in December, the company also was a major supplier of beef to the federally subsidized school lunch program. The USDA halted purchases of hamburger from the company after it flunked the salmonella tests.

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