Mandatory meat recall authority -- House Bill

Twice in the past week I've been interviewed on the issue of mandatory food recall authority.  The agencies want it; Grocery Manufacturers Association thinks it's a good idea; and now Representative Tom Udall (D- NM) has introduced

Unsafe Meat and Poultry Recall Act

H.R. 5518, A bill to amend the Federal Meat Inspetion Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to order the recall of meat and poultry that is adulterated, misbranded, or otherwise unsafe. (Introduced 2-28-08).

The bill provides mandatory recall if the company refuses to voluntarily recall tainted meat.  It applies to meat and poultry --

"If the Secretary finds that a meat product is in violation of this Act and that there is a reasonable probability that human consumption of the meat product may present a threat to public health. . ."

The announcement from Representative Udall's website, February 27, 2008:

Where's the Beef

You have probably heard by now that the USDA recently requested a recall of 143 million pounds of beef. The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Commodity Foods Program had sent 3,000 cases of the questionable beef to New Mexico's Human Services Department to be distributed to school lunch programs. Almost all of the recalled beef has been found, but the episode should remind us that our system for protecting Americans from unsafe meat needs reform. Currently, the USDA cannot force meat companies to recall dangerous products. This leads to time-consuming negotiations between the USDA and the meat companies instead of swift action to protect the public, and it gives meat companies an effective veto on recalls. This situation also undermines America's faith in the safety of the food we eat, which hurts ranchers in New Mexico and across the country. To protect American consumers, restore faith in the meat industry and help our ranchers, I have introduced legislation giving the USDA the power to institute mandatory recalls. No American should be poisoned because the USDA doesn't have the tools it needs to do its job, and I will do all I can to keep Americans safe.

Note:  Food Law Prof Blog is an equal opportunity blog; if you introduce a bill, I will blog it too.  This post was updated March 7, 2008, to incorporate the previously unavailable bill text.