DeLauro Presses Vilsack on USDA Chinese Chicken Decision’s Impact on Consumers

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for assurances that American consumers will not be at risk in the wake of the Agriculture Department's decision to  allow processed poultry products to be exported from China to the United States. As the former Chairwoman and current senior member of the subcommittee responsible for funding USDA, DeLauro has long fought to ensure unsafe poultry from China does not enter the United States.

"China continues to face serious challenges with weak enforcement of its food safety laws and regulations, including problems related to poultry products," DeLauro wrote. "For example, poultry from China has been found laced with illegal antibiotics.  Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined thousands of pets in the United States were made sick or died from eating pet treats containing contaminated chicken imported from China.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 135 people in China have contracted the H7N9 bird flu this year, 44 of whom died.

"China's food safety system continues to have serious deficiencies and there continue to be significant concerns with poultry in that country," she continued. "In the near future American consumers may begin eating processed poultry products from China, and then possibly poultry raised in China, without knowing it or being able to make informed choices in the marketplace.  And, given the food safety track record of China, I believe the health of American consumers may be risked by this decision."

DeLauro asked Vilsack to respond with details on how his department will ensure the safety of poultry products being exported to the United States, particularly considering US inspectors will not be present in China to ensure the plants continue to uphold the safety standards we expect.

Late last month USDA announced it was allowing poultry products processed in China to be exported to the US for sale. DeLauro has long expressed concerns that this is the first step in allowing Chinese chicken to be exported to the US.

The full letter is as follows:

September 11, 2013

Secretary Tom Vilsack

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C.  20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

I write with regard to the recent decision by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to grant equivalence of the food safety inspection system for processed poultry in China that will enable the export of processed poultry products from China to the United States.   I am deeply concerned this determination will put the health of American consumers at risk.

China continues to face serious challenges with weak enforcement of its food safety laws and regulations, including problems related to poultry products.  For example, poultry from China has been found laced with illegal antibiotics.  Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined thousands of pets in the United States were made sick or died from eating pet treats containing contaminated chicken imported from China.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 135 people in China have contracted the H7N9 bird flu this year, 44 of whom died. 

As you know, U.S. inspectors will not be onsite at the plants exporting processed poultry from China to the United States to ensure the products are processed with chicken from approved sources, do not contain poultry from China, and are otherwise safe and equivalent to poultry processed in the United States.  I also remain deeply concerned that your department is moving toward potentially granting equivalence to China's slaughtering plants, which would ultimately lead to the export of Chinese poultry to the United States. 

Moreover, FSIS granted equivalency based on an audit of four processing plants occurring as a result of onsite inspections in March agreed to after months of negotiations between FSIS and China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).  In 2006 the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted equivalence to China's poultry processing plants even as FSIS audits found contamination issues at Chinese plants that could put consumers at risk. 

One-off visits to plants neither make a food safety system safe nor ensure that food safety issues will not arise at these plants in the future.  Furthermore, as you know, FSIS auditors found problems in three of the four processing facilities visited in March.  Some of the problems were recurring, such as exposed wiring that made proper sanitation impossible to achieve. 

In light of these concerns, I respectfully request that you answer the following questions:

1)                 With no U.S. inspector continually present when poultry is being processed for export to the United States, how will your department ensure that the products exported from China do not contain domestically processed Chinese poultry?

2)                 How frequently will FSIS representatives visit China to perform in-person audits and how will your department ensure China's AQSIQ is complying with the corrective actions it agreed to make in the March 2013 audit?

3)                 If China certifies processing plants other than the ones audited in March, what assurances are there that these other processing facilities do not have the same issues if FSIS inspection staff have not physically audited those facilities? 

4)                 When does your department anticipate China will certify these plants to export to the United States under the provisions of the April 24, 2006 equivalency determination?

5)                 What companies from the United States, Canada, Chile, and any other approved country of origin have expressed an interest in sending raw poultry to China for processing?

6)                 When do you anticipate your department will complete the audit of China's slaughter facilities and when will the department file a proposed rule to grant equivalence to China's slaughter facilities thereby further paving the way for China to export its own poultry products to the United States?

7)                 Processed poultry products do not require country-of-origin labeling. How will American consumers be made aware of the fact they are consuming poultry products processed in China?

China's food safety system continues to have serious deficiencies and there continue to be significant concerns with poultry in that country.  In the near future American consumers may begin eating processed poultry products from China, and then possibly poultry raised in China, without knowing it or being able to make informed choices in the marketplace.  And, given the food safety track record of China, I believe the health of American consumers may be risked by this decision.

I look forward to your response to my questions.

Sincerely,

Rosa DeLauro