WASHINGTON – During testimony today before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) officials confirmed they have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a proposed rule on meat and poultry product recalls. The proposed rule would amend FSIS regulations to permit the Agency to make “available to the general public lists of the retail consignees of meat and poultry products that have been voluntarily recalled.”

The rule is called “Sharing of Firms’ Distribution Lists of Retail Consignees During Meat or Poultry Product Recalls.” Subcommittee Ranking Member Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) asked the officials to confirm this information, which is posted on OMB’s website.

“If this rule is permitted to go through, consumers will benefit greatly from knowing which grocery stores were shipped meat that could be potentially tainted – alleviating some of the confusion, fear, and possibly illness associated with recalls,” said DeLauro. “When questioned about this policy previously, FSIS claimed it could not permit the distribution of lists of customers because they were proprietary. I am pleased to see we are working toward a more consumer-friendly policy.”

OMB makes the official decision on this policy going forward. Based on a positive OMB recommendation, FSIS would then propose the rule for public comment.

“While such a rule is potentially far from completion, I intend to contact the Director of OMB and express strong interest in them encouraging and permitting FSIS to move ahead quickly to share distribution lists of retailers with consumers,” said DeLauro. “I can only hope this rule will be put in place before the next recall.”