Egg Safety Act of 1999 (Introduced in the Senate)
S 1868 IS
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1868
To improve the safety of shell eggs.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 5, 1999
Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. HARKIN) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,
and Forestry
A BILL
To improve the safety of shell eggs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Egg Safety Act of 1999'.
SEC. 2. EGG SAFETY IMPROVEMENT.
Section 5 of the Egg Product Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1034) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
`(f) EGG SAFETY IMPROVEMENT-
`(1) IN GENERAL- To ensure the protection of public health, the Secretary
shall promulgate regulations for the inspection of eggs from poultry producers
with flocks of at least 3,000 hens at each stage in the egg production
process, from the farm to the retail level.
`(2) REQUIREMENTS- The regulations described in paragraph (1) shall--
`(A) require that any inspection of eggs (including inspections at
official plants) be conducted at a frequency so as to achieve a continuous
monitoring and verification of performance standards;
`(B) require that inspections described in paragraph (1) include the
implementation, through the Food Safety and Inspection Service, of hazard
analysis and critical control point-based programs for egg safety;
`(C) require labeling on egg cartons (including cartons of eggs sold
for institutional or food service industry use)--
`(i) to warn ultimate consumers of the risk of illness associated with
consuming raw or undercooked eggs; and
`(ii) to provide instructions on how to maintain egg safety;
`(D) require uniform expiration dating of all eggs, including the requirements
that--
`(i) no eggs packed for the ultimate consumer shall, at the time of
packing, be older than 21 days from the date of lay; and
`(ii) eggs packed for retail sale shall carry an expiration date or
a sell by date that is not later than 30 days after the date on which the
eggs were packed;
`(E) provide that eggs returned to the packer from grocery stores or
other retail establishments, store warehouses, and other entities--
`(i) shall not be repackaged as shell eggs intended for human consumption;
but
`(ii) may be diverted for additional processing as pasteurized egg
products;
`(F) provide for a new expiration date for pasteurized shell eggs,
as determined by the Secretary; and
`(G) require the testing of flocks for, and the pasteurization of all
eggs from flocks that test positive for, the presence of Salmonella enteritidis.
`(A) CONTAMINATION WARNING- Labeling requirements described in paragraph
(2)(C) may not apply to eggs that are pasteurized or treated with other
technology approved by the Secretary to kill pathogens that could contaminate
the contents of the egg, as determined by the Secretary.
`(B) REFRIGERATION- Labeling requirements described in subparagraphs
(C) and (D) of paragraph (2) shall be in addition to the requirement in
effect on the date of enactment of this subsection that all eggs be labeled
with a notice that the eggs should be kept refrigerated.
`(4) SALMONELLA ENTERITIDIS TESTING PROGRAM- The Food Safety and Inspection
Service may trace or otherwise determine the origin of production of eggs
contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis.
`(5) NO EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITY- Nothing in this subsection affects
the authority of the Secretary--
`(A) to regulate and inspect eggs under any other provision of this
Act or any other law; or
`(B) to conduct a voluntary egg grading program under the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.).'.