U.S. may rethink food safety
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Contending the current food
safety system is too fragmented,
members of Congress and con
sumer advocates renewed
efforts Tuesday to create a sin
gle agency to inspect food and
punish violators.
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., a
sponsor of legislation that would
create the new Food Safety
Administration, said public con
cern over E. coli-contaminated
beef and safety of imported pro
duce could boost support for a
proposal that has failed in the
past against fierce industry and
bureaucratic opposition.
“We have to move beyond
political clout and turf,” Durbin
said. “This legislation isn’t about
more regulation - it’s about
more effective regulation.*'
Food inspection and safety
enforcement today is divided
mainly among the Agriculture
Department, Commerce
Department, Food and Drug
Administration and
Environmental Protection
Agency. Each has its own bud
get, staff and regulations.
This system contains inher
ent contradictions, said Rep. Vic
Fazio, D-Calif.
t- ----
And which agency does the
inspecting matters: A recent
General Accounting Office audit
found that USDA inspects meat,
poultry and egg production facili
ties every day, while FDA inspects
food manufacturing plants only
about once eveiy 10 years.
“This system makes no sense
to the American public,” said
Carol Tucker Foreman, a former
USDA assistant secretary who
is now head of the Safe Food
Coalition. “The existing
arrangement is convenient for
lobbyists and lawyers.”
The bill would consolidate the
budgets and staffs of existing
food-safety functions, meaning
no new money would be spent.
The top officer would be like the
EPA administrator, a Cabinet
level post but not a full-fledged
Cabinet member.
The legislation stops short of
proposing any new food inspec
tion practices or tougher meat
recall rules, which the Clinton
administration began advocat
ing after the recall last summer
of 25 million pounds of Hudson
Foods Inc. ground beef produced
at a Columbus plant.
Three other E.coli-contami
nated beef recalls also have
involved Nebraska plants since
then. Two were traced to
Norfolk’s BeefAmerica plant,
and South Korea sent back tons
of IBP Inc. beef after E. coh was
found on some of it.
Several industry groups
reacted cautiously to the propos
al but said they were willing to
discuss it, a big departure from
the past when most fought out
right to retain the system as it is.
“If the focus is to enhance
our food safety system through
sound science, common sense
regulations and nationally uni
form standards, we welcome the
initiative,” said Kelly Johnston,
lobbyist for the National Food
Processors Association.
it
This legislation isn’t about more
regulation. Its about more effective
regulation.”
Richard Durbin
U.S. Senator
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Iraq agrees to wait
to expel U.S. officials
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq
agreed Tuesday to postpone the
expulsion of American weapons
inspectors until after U.N. envoys
finish their mission, in an apparent
bid by Baghdad to take its case to
end sanctions directly to the
Security Council.
After an appeal by U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
Iraqi officials said they’d wait
until after the envoys’ report to the
Security Council, in order to cre
ate a “positive environment’ for
today’s mission.
Iraq had vowed to expel seven
American inspectors working with
the United Nations by today.
It was far from certain if the
postponement, announced both in
Iraq and at the United Nations,
would solve anything. Iraq already
has rejected the envoys’ message:
rescind the expulsion order
against the Americans and cooper
ate fully with the U.N. inspectors.
But by waiting to carry through
on the expulsions, Iraq appeared to
be trying to get the council to
address President Saddam
Hussein’s agenda: a deadline from
the United Nations for lifting the
punishing sanctions, imposed for
its 1990 invasion of Kuwait
Annan said Iraqi Deputy Prime
Minister Tariq Aziz would come to
New York to argue his govern
ment’s case.
The Security Council has said
it will not lift the sanctions -
which include an embargo in
Iraq’s important oil exports - until
arms inspectors certify that Iraq
has eliminated its weapons of
mass destruction.
The crisis arose last week when
Iraq announced that Americans
will be barred from U.N. inspec
tion teams on grounds they are
spying and working to maintain the
crippling economic sanctions.
Iraq continued that policy
Tuesday, blocking for the second
, straight day U.N. inspectors trying
to check weapons sites inside the
country. Authorities reiterated
they would not grant access to
teams that included Americans.
Iraq also has warned that a U.S.
surveillance flight scheduled for
today risked triggering Iraqi anti
aircraft batteries, reportedly on
alert in case of an American attack.
That brought a sharp response
Tuesday from President Clinton,
who warned that Saddam would
be making “a big mistake” if his
_
troops fired on the spy planes.
Defense Secretary William
Cohen said the flights would go
forward and threatened “serious
consequences” if Iraq attacked.
Neither leader specified what
the United States would do in the
event of an Iraq assault, but the
government has already said it
would not rule out a military
response to Iraq’s decision to bar
American inspectors.
Annan sought to end the caus
tic rhetoric that has characterized
the dispute.
“Threats and counter-threats
are not conducive to these kinds of
negotiations,” he told reporters.
“So I appeal to everyone to
restrain themselves and give the
process a chance.”
The three U.N. envoys are due
in Baghdad today. They’re expect
ed to remain for two days before
returning to brief the Security
Council on Monday.
In Baghdad, some 55,000
Iraqis gathered for a soccer game
at Al-Shaab Stadium that was pre-!
ceded by rally with chants of
“Down with America!”
Iraq’s turning back of the U.N.
weapons inspectors Tuesday was a
repeat of Monday’s action, when a
missile team with at least one
American was denied entry to a site.
‘Today we went with our inspec
tion teams to separate sites,” said
Maj. Gen. Nils Carlstrom, the
Swedish head of the U.N. monitor
ing office in Baghdad. “All three
teams were told they can continue
their inspections, but without
Americans.”
He said the team leaders can
celed the inspections and returned
to headquarters.
The inspectors are part of the
U.N. Special Commission, which
is responsible for monitoring the
elimination of Iraq’s weapons of
mass destruction.
Iraq claims it has destroyed its
weapons and dismantled the pro-1
grams to build them, but U.N.
inspectors repeatedly have said Iraq
is withholding key information.
Also Tuesday, a high ranking
U.S. State Department official,
Martin Indyk, continued his tour
of Gulf states seeking support for
a firm U.N. stand on the dispute.
“The united will of the
Security Council is that Saddam
should understand that he has no
alternative but to comply,” Indyk
said.
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