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Food safety program to get a $43 million boost
January 24, 1997
Web posted at: 11:30 p.m. ESTIn this story:
From Correspondent Eugenia Halsey
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Four children died and hundreds more got sick from eating undercooked hamburgers infected with a dangerous form of e. coli bacteria four years ago. Beginning Saturday, the government is going to do something about it.
In his Saturday address, President Bill Clinton is expected to announce plans to spend $43 million to ensure that food inspectors learn high-tech procedures that will enable them to do a better job of inspecting seafood and monitoring for food poisoning.
Christina See was one of those poisoned in 1993, and had to have her large intestine removed.
"While I was in the hospital," she says, "virtually every organ except my heart and brain shut down."
Starting Monday, not only will government inspectors look at meat for signs of disease, they will also run tests for things that are not obvious in a visual inspection.
"When we all look at a package of meat and it's clean, it's not going to be possible to tell what the bacteria levels are," says Dr. Craig Reed of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Food industry says it supports the changes
Companies will also be required to keep written records of what they're doing to keep their plants clean.
"We want them to be squeaky clean at the beginning of operations," says Dr. Reed. "We want the table tops to shine. We don't want there to be meat from yesterday's operation around there."
Inspectors are also taking classes to help them understand why meat gets infected. It is part of the high-tech training the Clinton Administration proposes to track food poisoning and step up seafood inspections.
"This is being done to keep the President's commitment to clean food and water," says White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry.
The food industry says it supports the president's proposal.
"Additional federal resources to provide greater training for our nation's inspectors as well as additional research dollars to better understand the nature of our nation's food supply are very positive developments," says J. Patrick Boyle of the American Meat Institute.
'The dawn of a new era....'
Consumer groups are pleased, too.
Says Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, "We're at the dawn of a new era for food safety regulation in this country."
The changes don't guarantee that food will be safe. Consumers will still have to do their part to prevent contamination, but it should put them more at ease.
Related stories:
- E. coli poisoning leads to Odwalla juice recall - November 1, 1997
- Eating your veggies not always so good for you - September 11, 1996
- Japan tries antibiotics in baffling E. coli outbreak - July 29, 1996
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- FDA
- USDA - Answering Your Questions on E. coli
- International Food Information Council - Answering your questions on E. coli
- World Health Organization: emerging foodborne diseases
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Preventing foodbourne illness: Escherichia coli
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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