DeLauro: Report on Beef "Trim" Products Exposes Food Safety Risks

Washington, DC— Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), Ranking Member on the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, issued the following statement today in response to the report released by USDA's Office of the Inspector General on the sampling program to detect E. coli in beef "trim" products, leftover pieces from larger cuts of meat commonly used in ground beef products.

Congresswoman DeLauro requested this report on November 12, 2009, in her capacity as Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration. She expressed concern about the efficacy of testing the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) was conducting on beef "trim" products, and their ability to detect the presence of E. coli. These products are tested for contamination through a process in which inspectors remove a small sample from the side of a large batch.

"I am very disturbed that the findings in this report confirm that the sampling program developed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service to determine the safety of beef "trim" products is not statically valid. Even more troubling is that, based on the report's findings, this sampling method is not able to verify that plant controls or interventions are working as intended. USDA must come up with a statistically valid sampling program and a corresponding cost estimate for the revised sampling program and laboratory costs.

"The report's conclusion represents a significant public health threat because it is not designed to yield the statistical precision that is reasonable for food safety. We must give FSIS the tools and resources to allow the agency to fulfill their responsibility to protect our meat and poultry supply. This is why it is critical that Congress to resist dangerous budget cuts and fund these agencies at a level that will enable them to effectively protect public health."