DeLauro Presses for Answers on Peanut Corps’ Contracts to Supply Nation’s School Lunch Program
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn. -3), alarmed by the latest developments in the investigation into Peanut Corporation of America, which revealed that the company sold roasted peanuts and peanut butter to the nation's school lunch program, wrote to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack seeking information on how the agency procures peanut products for the program.
It is extremely troubling to learn that the Peanut Corporation supplied salmonella-tainted peanuts and peanut butter to our school lunch program, especially after initially being assured that schools were unaffected by the contaminated products," said DeLauro.
"While I recognize that the Farm Service Agency is not responsible for performing food safety inspections, I would like additional information on the details of the auditing process that FSA inspectors perform when visiting facilities that supply food products to the national school lunch program," DeLauro writes in the letter. "It is critical that we obtain as much information about this outbreak as we can in order to avoid a future occurrence at another food processing facility."
DeLauro also is seeking additional information about the roles of the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Food Nutrition Service in procuring these peanut products for schools.
"Obtaining the information requested in the letter will help Congress determine just how this full-scale breakdown of the food safety system occurred."
Below is the text of the letter.
February 6, 2009
The Honorable Tom Vilsack
Secretary
United States Department of Agriculture
Room 200-A, Jamie L. Whitten Building
12th Street & Jefferson Drive, SW
Washington, DC 20250-0002
Dear Mr. Secretary: I am certain you are equally alarmed over recent reports that the USDA purchased peanut products from the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Georgia for the school lunch program. As you know, products from this plant have been linked to the recent salmonella outbreak involving peanut products that has resulted in eight deaths and over 500 illnesses.
I would like to commend you for immediately suspending USDA's contract with this company and for working to prohibit it from doing business with the federal government for three years. If the criminal investigation by the Department of Justice confirms that the company knowingly sold contaminated products, I strongly urge you to extend this ban for an indefinite period of time. I also would like to commend you for removing the company's president from an agency advisory board on peanut product standards. Your swift actions assured many of us in Congress that food safety will be a high priority during your tenure at USDA.
The recent reports about the Farm Service Agency's auditing process for the Blakely plant are very troubling. While I recognize that the Farm Service Agency is not responsible for performing food safety inspections, I would like additional information on the details of the auditing process that FSA inspectors perform when visiting facilities that supply food products to the national school lunch program.
I also am seeking additional information on the roles of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in procuring peanut products for the school lunch program.
As such, please provide responses to the following questions.
· If during their audit process, FSA inspectors encountered unsanitary conditions at a food processing facility, would they report these findings to their supervisors, or notify the Agricultural Marketing Service or the Food and Nutrition Service?
· According to reports, Farm Service Agency inspectors audited the PCA plant in Blakely, GA ten times between 2001 and 2007. Did inspectors observe anything unusual that would indicate that the plant could produce unsafe food?
· Please provide details of the audit process that an FSA inspector would follow for the Blakely plant.
· Under the auditing requirements for peanut products purchased by the U.S. government, AMS is required to conduct a plant systems audit (PSA) within 12 months prior to the date of the awarding of the contract. This audit is supposed to verify the manufacturer's capability to produce products in a clean, sanitary environment in accordance with good manufacturing practices. Was this audit performed and were the results of the audit reviewed by AMS?
· When this recent salmonella outbreak began, FNS assured Members of Congress that none of the products from the Blakely plant were purchased for any school meal programs. We were troubled to learn through media reports that this information was proven incorrect and that, in fact, USDA had a contract with the Blakely plant. Could you determine why the agency was not able to provide the correct information immediately about USDA's contract with PCA?
· Do you know how closely AMS works with FNS to determine the quality of the products that are purchased for the various nutrition programs administered by USDA?
· Do you have any information as to which public and private schools received the products from the Blakely plant, and when they were sent?
· In terms of tracking products: -- What is the process for tracking products from a food processing facility to a store or school? -- How do the Agricultural Marketing Service, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Food and Nutrition Service work with states to track these products? -- How do these three agencies work together to ensure they share relevant information?
· Do the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration intend to perform a post-recall assessment of what went wrong during this salmonella outbreak?
Although there have been no illnesses linked to these shipments so far, it is alarming that most of these products already have been consumed by school children. It is critical that we obtain as much information about this outbreak as we can in order to avoid a future occurrence at another food processing facility.
I would appreciate responses to these questions by February 23, 2009. Thank you very much for your attention to this matter and I look forward to working with you to prevent future outbreaks.
Sincerely,
ROSA L. DeLAURO
Chairwoman
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration,
and Related Agencies