The role of industry in food safety: Bart Stupak

Find the link to the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing on the industry role in food safety at this link. From the opening statement:




Energy & Commerce Committee
Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee
“The Salmonella Outbreak: The Role of Industry in Protecting the Nation’s Food Supply”
Opening Statement
Rep. Bart Stupak, Chairman
March 19, 2009
“Mold was observed growing on the ceiling and walls”…“rain water was observed dripping into the plant’s peanut processing areas”…“6 dead mice were found in the false ceiling area”…air filters were “littered with feathers”…“a live roach and several dead roaches were observed in the firm’s wash room”…“REPs [rodent excreta pellets] too numerous to count were observed.” The pictures you are seeing, and the quotes I am reading, come from federal inspections of facilities in Georgia and Texas operated by the Peanut Corporation of America. At the Subcommittee’s first hearing on February 11, 2009, we heard testimony about filthy conditions and at least a dozen positive salmonella tests that PCA received in 2007 and 2008. Today, the Subcommittee will continue its investigation by hearing from representatives of three companies that bought products from these polluted PCA facilities: the Kellogg company, the King Nut Company, and Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets. We will ask a series of questions today. First, we will ask why their food safety procedures failed to prevent the contamination of their products. The written testimony submitted for today’s hearing suggests that some of the companies believe PCA was entirely at fault, and that they should not be held responsible for the safety of ingredients they bought from a disreputable supplier. PCA certainly deserves its share of the blame, and there are ongoing criminal investigations of its actions. But all three of these companies put their own labels on these products. They put their names on them. They represented to the public that these products were safe to eat. And they sold them to consumers who became ill and in some cases died, according to state and federal authorities Placing all the blame on PCA would mean that food processors have no responsibility for ensuring the safety of their ingredients. And I simply can’t agree with that.
Second, we will ask whether these companies should have known or suspected problems with PCA before the outbreak. In written testimony submitted today, Martin Kanan, the President and CEO of King Nut, states that PCA’s president, Stewart Parnell, informed King Nut on January 7, 2009, that he had no knowledge of any salmonella issues with his products.




The documents tell a different story. On the same day, January 7, Mr. Parnell sent an e-mail to King Nut’s Vice President for Finance and Administration, Joe Valenza. In this e-mail, PCA’s president, Mr. Parnell, forwarded a news account of the emerging outbreak. to King Nut’s Vice President and said, “Joe, I’m sure it’s something we did.” Eleven minutes later, King Nut’s Vice President replied: “I’m recalling everything.” Four minutes later, Mr. Parnell replied: “Now my heart is really in my throat. I think I’m going to church tonight.”Third, we will ask why none of these companies ever asked PCA officials to disclose their positive tests for salmonella. If your supplier tests positive, this is definitely something you should find out, and it’s certainly something your customers deserve to know. Even industry insiders recognized this. In an e-mail on February 5, 2009, an official at a private food safety auditing firm wrote to a co-worker: “[T]he biggest problem was with the positive micro data that they ignored. … this data was not initially available for the FDA either. They had to really pry into their documentation before uncovering the additional test results.”Fourth, we will ask why these companies relied on audits by AIB, a firm that was selected and aid by PCA. There is an obvious and inherent conflict of interest when an auditor works for the same supplier it is evaluating, and several documents show evidence of this cozy relationship On December 22, 2008, PCA’s auditor e-mailed Sammy Lightsey, the manager of PCA’s Georgia plant, to give him advance notice of an upcoming inspection. He stated: “You lucky guy. I am your AIB auditor. So we need to get your plant set up for any audit.” The result of that audit was a rating of “superior.” The conclusions were completely different when the auditors were not paid by PCA. Today, we will release several audits that have not yet been made public. They were conducted not by the auditor PCA hired, but by internal auditors working for Nestle USA. In 2002, Nestle auditors found that PCA’s Georgia facility had no plan to address microbiological hazards like salmonella. Their audit found a “potential for microbiological cross contamination” and concluded that PCA was “not in compliance” with housekeeping, sanitation, and pest control standards. The audit noted:
- “Rodent droppings in the break room cabinets”
- “Live Flour beetle activity in the blancher room”
- “Dead Flour beetles found in stored screens in the bleacher room”
- “Dead insects found on the interior perimeters”
The audit warned that “it is critical that these deficiencies are addressed.” But its findings in 2002 were similar to those of federal investigators seven years later. Nestle USA also conducted an audit of PCA’s Texas facility in 2006 and came to similarconclusions. As a result, Nestle USA rejected PCA as a supplier. We will ask the other companies here today why they did not do the same. If they had, perhaps some of these illnesses and deaths would have been avoided. In conclusion, I ask unanimous consent that the documents in my opening statement and in the binder prepared by staff be entered into the official hearing record.

Consumers Union: annual inspections needed

From Consumers Union this morning:



The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing today on the role of industry in protecting the nation’s food supply underscores the need for regular, comprehensive food inspections, according to Consumers Union (CU), nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. CU urges Congress to overhaul the nation’s food safety laws and to mandate annual inspections of food processing facilities.

“All food companies need to be extremely diligent about their suppliers and their safety practices. Hundreds of consumers became severely ill, and nine died, as a result of failures of companies all the way down the line to insure that their products were wholesome and safe,” said Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives for CU. “However, government oversight is the bedrock of food safety. We’re pleased that Kellogg’s CEO is expected to support a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandate to inspect every food processing facility at least once a year.”

In response to the recent salmonella outbreak in peanut butter products, several owners of companies that purchased the output of the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) will be called as witnesses, including: Martin Kanan, president and CEO of the King Nut Company; David Mackay, CEO of the Kellogg Company; and Heather Isely, co-owner of Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets, Inc. A large number of the recent peanut-related cases of salmonella poisoning have been traced to the Austin and Keebler brand crackers manufactured by Kellogg, and to King Nut brand peanut butter that went to certain health care facilities. Both purchased peanut products from the PCA plant in Blakely, Georgia. Vitamin Cottage sold tainted peanut products that came from PCA’s plant in Plainview, Texas.

At last month’s Congressional hearing, PCA owner Stewart Parnell invoked the Fifth Amendment, refusing to answer questions posed by angry lawmakers. He is the subject of a criminal investigation, and his company, facing lawsuits by families of salmonella victims, filed for bankruptcy on February 13.

The FDA last inspected PCA in 2001; when it returned in January 2009 in response to the crisis, it found, among other health hazards, salmonella on plant surfaces, peanuts stored under water leaks, and dead roaches.

A recent New York Times investigative story shows how the job of monitoring food plants has, in large part, fallen to private auditors. For example, in the PCA situation, Kellogg relied on a private inspector to protect it from contaminated products. However, according to the account of one PCA employee, reported in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, PCA, which had hired the auditor, knew in advance that this auditor was coming and cleaned up for the inspection.

“Companies cannot rely on pre-announced, private third-party certification visits paid for by the vendor,” said Halloran. “Had there been better and more independent federal government oversight in place, businesses could have better protected themselves and consumers from this deadly outbreak.”

To date, more than 3,000 diverse products have been recalled—the largest number ever in the U.S.—and nine deaths have been linked to the outbreak. Close to 700 people are known to have fallen sick, but the actual number could be much higher, as in general only about 3 percent of salmonella cases are reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

CU also praises President Barack Obama’s recent appointments of a new FDA commissioner and deputy commissioner and announcement of the creation of a Food Safety Working Group.

“President Obama's appointment of a new FDA commissioner will definitely improve the agency’s use of its existing resources and authority, and the Food Safety Working group should help foster coordination across federal agencies and ensure that laws are enforced,” said Halloran. “Congress must also act soon to modernize FDA and give it the additional resources and authority it desperately needs.”

CU supports a number of bills introduced in Congress to upgrade the nation’s food safety system.