Fresh Produce Discussion Blog

Created by The Packer's National Editor Tom Karst

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

TOMORROW: DeLauro, Slaughter to Unveil Food Safety Legislation



WASHINGTON, DC—In advance of next week’s 4th of July holiday, Democratic Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro and Louise Slaughter will unveil legislation to end the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s claim that they cannot issue a recall of unsafe meat, poultry, or egg products. They will be joined by consumer and food safety advocates tomorrow, June 25 at 2:00 p.m. in Cannon 402 to outline details of the bill.


DeLauro, former Chairwoman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, and Slaughter, a microbiologist, have a long history of fighting to ensure the safety of the food American families put on their dinner tables. In the wake of the Foster Farms outbreak that reached its peak last year the representatives met with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), where they were told FSIS does not believe they have the authority to declare even the very dangerous Salmonella an adulterant. DeLauro and Slaughter strongly disagree and they are introducing their legislation to ensure USDA is no longer unclear about their abilities.