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Judge Questions Government’s Ability to Safeguard
Food
 May 26, 2000
The federal government’s testing program
to detect salmonella contamination in ground
beef processing plants took a major hit after
a judge ruled it does not fairly evaluate
whether a plant is sanitary.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Joe Fish
threw into doubt the federal government’s
ability to safeguard food, officials said.
Fish issued his decision on Thursday
after
Supreme Beef, a meat processing plant
in
Dallas, objected to the government’s
guidelines.
The federal program was designed to
ensure
that raw ground beef is safe for consumers.
The Department of Agriculture closed
the
Dallas plant because it failed a salmonella
contamination test three times.
Judge: USDA Went Too Far
But in his 15-page decision, Fish agreed
with the company that those tests “did
not
necessarily measure the actual conditions
of that plant.”
“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,” the judge
ruled.
“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.
Moreover, the court said Supreme Beef
can
continue selling its ground beef all
across
the nation without meeting the government’s
salmonella standards. Salmonella kills
an
estimated 550 people and causes 1.4
million
illnesses annually in the United States.
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
said the
court ruling threatened the entire
meat inspection
system and could turn back years of
progress
in food safety.
“I think the ruling is wrong and I
think
it represents a serious threat to what
we’re
trying to do at modernizing the food
safety
system in this country,” Glickman said.
The USDA revamped its food safety program
four years ago to use more scientific
testing
and checkpoints to monitor meat and
poultry.
After Thursday’s ruling, the Clinton
administration
vowed to appeal.
Is the Public at Risk?
Supreme Beef, a supplier of meat to
the federal
school lunch program, said the rules
were
arbitrary.
“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 about
500,000
pounds of ground beef daily and supplies
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.
“If Supreme sold meat in this area,
I would
buy it and cook it tomorrow for the
dinner
I am cooking for a family of seven,”
said
Rosemary Mucklow, a spokeswoman for
the National
Meat Association.
Meat producers have long contended
the government’s
salmonella tests are inconsistent and
inconclusive.
But with Supreme Beef now free to sell
its
meat to grocery stores and the government
school lunch program, consumer groups
say
the public is at risk.
“Consumers may get more contaminated
ground
beef this summer because of this ruling,”
said Caroline Smith DeWall, food safety
director
for the Center for Science in the Public
Interest.
Supreme Beef claims no one has ever
fallen
ill from its meat in the 30 years it
has
been in business but Glickman says
he will
do what it takes to force the company
to
meet the government standards once
again.
ABCNEWS Mike Von Fremd and the Associated Press
contributed to this report.
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