Flap Develops Over AMS Meat Decision

April 6, 2001

An announcement late Wednesday by acting Agriculture Marketing Service Administrator Ken Clayton of changes in meat inspection procedures for the school lunch and other feeding programs was refuted Thursday by the Bush administration. The action leaves in place, for now, stricter inspection procedures put in place by the Clinton administration.

Clayton said pathogen testing would be conducted at slaughter and throughout the manufacturing process, putting in place "controls and measurements on our suppliers ... to ensure we're getting the safest possible food products" in beef, pork and turkey. The new procedures, in effect, backed off from the Clinton administration's zero tolerance policy standards. Salmonella testing procedures would have ended for ground beef.

Raw products would be tested for E. coli, he added, but if the products were cooked or irradiated, the tests would not be done, because cooking and irradiating kill harmful pathogens. Instead, plants would be required to operating "within defined limits."

However, on Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman said the proposed changes in contract procedures were being withdrawn. "These proposed changes were released prior to receiving appropriate review," she said. "Concerns had been expressed about salmonella testing and those issues should have been addressed prior to any new proposals being considered."

USDA will "continue to examine additional measures to improve food safety and will consider new contract procedures after appropriate scientific-based information is received from all interested parties," Veneman added.

BLOOMBERG NEWS quoted Veneman's spokesman Kevin Herglotz who said the rules had "moved forward without the proper review." Veneman decided to pull them back "to ensure that our systems to contract for food delivery in our schools remain safe, and can be strengthened."

The news agency said he changed standard, which was posted last Friday on the agency's Web site, was published before Veneman's top advisers had reviewed it, Herglotz said. The posting has since been taken down.

Ari Fleischer, White House spokesman, said it was not a reversal. "The Secretary is the one who makes those decisions, and the Secretary had not made a decision until today. This was a case in which officials at the Department of Agriculture were -- had some options that they were reviewing. But the Secretary had made it clear that nothing would happen until she checked off on it, and that she said that she wanted to discuss it with consumer groups prior to checking off on it.

"She started to have those discussions with some consumer groups. She's made her decision today (Thursday), and made it clear, that the United States Department of Agriculture will continue to have those standards in place, to protect school lunches, so that we can inspect the meals, so there is no salmonella present," Fleischer said.

Once Clayton had made the announcement, he added, "that was not in keeping with what the Secretary knew she was going to do, the Secretary may have adjusted her timetable to make the announcement."