Rosa DeLauro Urges Obama Administration Not To Weaken Food Safety

Asks Food Safety Measures Be Excluded FromAgreements with Canada

WASHINGTON,DC—Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today urged the Administration to ensureAmerican food safety standards are not weakened by pending agreements withCanada. Details of the Regulatory Cooperation Council and Beyond the Borderinitiatives are currently being negotiated between the two governments. There are significant differences between the two countries' food safetysystems and easing the way for Canadian products to bypass traditionalsafeguards and enter U.S. markets could put public health at risk.

"Justthis past September, Canada initiated what would become the largest beef recallin its history," DeLauro wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, OMB ActingDirector Jeffrey Zients and John Brennan, Assistant to the President forHomeland Security and Counterterrorism. "Any attempt to achieve greateralignment with the regulatory approaches of the two systems would have thepotential to weaken public health protections in the United States and impedeUSDA's ability to prevent foodborne illness…facilitating trade should notsupersede public health protections as would be the case in this situation withtrade taking priority over preventing domestic foodborne illness"

DeLaurois a senior member of the committee responsible for funding the AgricultureDepartment and a longtime champion for food safety. She was one of theleaders responsible for passing the Food Safety Modernization Act, which becamelaw in 2011.

Thefull letter is as follows:

December 13, 2012

TheHonorable Tom Vilsack

Secretary

U.S.Department of Agriculture

1400Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington,D.C. 20501

JeffreyZients

ActingDirector

Officeof Management and Budget

72515th Street, N.W.

Washington,D.C. 20503

JohnBrennan

Assistantto the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism

HomelandSecurity Council

EisenhowerExecutive Office Building, Room 212

1650Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington,DC 20502

DearSecretary Vilsack, Acting Director Zients, and Mr. Brennan:

Iwrite to urge you to exclude food safety-related measures from the RegulatoryCooperation Council (RCC) and Beyond the Border (BtB) initiatives. Giventhe significance of recent food safety concerns in Canada, it is apparent thatthe goals of the RCC and BtB initiatives conflict with our efforts to preventfoodborne illness. Thus, it is critical that food safety measures not beincluded in these initiatives.

Asyou know, the RCC establishes several initiatives where the U.S. and Canadawill seek greater alignment of regulatory approaches. With regard to foodsafety, the joint action plan aims to: develop common approaches to foodsafety; enhance equivalence agreements for meat safety systems; and, streamlinethe certification requirements for meat and poultry. Recent food safetyrecalls in Canada indicate that there may be underlying problems within theCanadian system that would endanger foodborne illness prevention efforts in theUnited States if such a greater realignment of regulatory approaches ispursued.

Justthis past September, Canada initiated what would become the largest beef recallin its history. The recall involved more than 2,000 products from XLFoods in Alberta, including an estimated 2.5 million pounds of beef productsthat had been exported to the United States. This recall was linked to 18E. coli cases across Canada. Prior to the recall announcement, the U.S.Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)alerted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to at least three positivesamples for E. coli O157:H7 in XL Foods products between September 4 andSeptember 12. Given the three positive samples in such a short period, itis clear that the plant experienced a ‘high-event period' that it was unable toidentify.

Inaddition to these concerns, there also are key differences between the U.S. andCanadian food safety systems. It would therefore be distressing ifregulatory alignment goals lowering standards are achieved under RCC andBtB. For instance:

•The United States has zero tolerance for Listeria monocytogenes in allReady-to-Eat products and product contact surfaces, while the Canadian systemallows for a tolerance level of less than 100 colony forming units. Asyou know, listeriosis is a serious infection that may be caused by consumingcontaminated foods like deli meats and hot dogs. This grave foodborneillness primarily affects pregnant women, older adults, and newborns. Moreover, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicatesthat hospitalization rates and case fatality rates for listeriosis are amongthe highest seen for foodborne illnesses.

•Earlier this month, nearly 5,000 pounds of frozen butter chicken imported fromCanada were recalled because the product may have been contaminated withListeria monocytogenes. Although the product is frozen, it is considered‘Ready-to-Eat' as defined by Canadian standards. While it is obvious thatfrozen products need to be heated before being consumed, there are non-frozenproducts that require additional cooking but can still be described as‘Ready-to-Eat' by the Canadian definition. Meanwhile, USDA defines‘Ready-to-Eat' as products that can be consumed without additional cooking orpreparation, as the term implies to consumers.

•In the United States, before a meat or poultry facility is permitted to shipits product into commerce, it is required to review its hazard analysis andcritical control points (HACCP) records to ensure that all of the plant'scritical control points have been met. Canada does not require thispre-shipment review of a plant's HACCP records.

•Perhaps most importantly, FSIS requires a continuous inspection presence atmeat and poultry slaughter and processing facilities. Canada does notrequire a daily or continuous inspection presence at its meat and poultryslaughter facilities. This significant difference could explain how the‘high-event period' at XL Foods went undetected for an extended period of timeuntil identified by FSIS testing.

Clearlythere are important differences between the U.S. and Canadian food safetysystems as it relates to meat and poultry products. Any attempt toachieve greater alignment with the regulatory approaches of the two systemswould have the potential to weaken public health protections in the UnitedStates and impede USDA's ability to prevent foodborne illness.

Inaddition to the RCC, the BtB Action Plan outlines joint priorities forachieving a new long-term security partnership that would, among other things,promote trade facilitation and economic growth. While enhancing economicties between the United States and Canada is important, I have long maintainedthat facilitating trade should not supersede public health protections as wouldbe the case in this situation with trade taking priority over preventingdomestic foodborne illness.

Itis alarming that the BtB Action Plan establishes a pilot program that wouldallow a Canadian establishment to ship fresh beef and pork products directly toan FSIS-inspected facility, bypassing border inspection. The XL Foodsrecall underscores the importance of border testing and demonstrates that thereare questions as to whether the Canadian food safety system for meat is trulyequivalent to the U.S. system.

Whenconsidering the goals of the RCC and BtB initiatives, it is clear thatimportant food safety measures in the U.S. could be diminished, or evensacrificed, if these initiatives proceed as currently planned. As such, Istrongly urge you to prevent any food safety-related measures from beingincluded in these initiatives.

Sincerely,

RosaL. DeLauro

Memberof Congress

Cc: Ambassador RonKirk, Office of the United States Trade Representative