DeLauro Requests Salmonella Testing Records Linked to JBS Ground Beef Recall

WASHINGTON, DC (December 4, 2018) - Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement after sending a letter to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue regarding the expanded ground beef recall. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that an additional 5.1 million pounds of ground beef has been recalled due to Salmonella contamination—bringing the total recalled amount to more than 12 million pounds. As of November 15, the outbreak has caused 246 illnesses across 25 states.

"Today's expanded ground beef recall—two months after the initial recall—underscores USDA's failure to take their regulatory responsibility seriously. That is unacceptable and has put people across the country at unnecessary risk to foodborne illnesses. As a result, I have requested the Salmonella testing records associated with the JBS Tolleson facility from the last 52 weeks. This request should help to shed light on the inadequacies of USDA's testing standards that have led to the scale of this outbreak. Our government's policies should create confidence in our nation's food supply, not subject families to months-long recalls that make them doubt the safety of their food."

DeLauro first raised the alarm on USDA's inadequate ground beef safety standards following the initial announcement of this recall. She serves as chair of the Congressional Food Safety Caucus and is a senior Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for funding the USDA.