[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1157 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1157

       To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide retail 
  establishments with information describing recalled meat, poultry, 
eggs, and related food products, to require the retail establishment to 
 communicate the recall information to consumers, to require the Food 
 Safety Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture to protect 
      against certain foodborne illnesses, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2011

Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide retail 
  establishments with information describing recalled meat, poultry, 
eggs, and related food products, to require the retail establishment to 
 communicate the recall information to consumers, to require the Food 
 Safety Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture to protect 
      against certain foodborne illnesses, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Foodborne Illness Reduction Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. CONSUMER RECALL NOTIFICATION.

    Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 is amended by 
adding after section 208 (7 U.S.C. 1627) the following:

``SEC. 209. CONSUMER RECALL NOTIFICATION.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Class i recall.--The term `Class I recall' means a 
        food recall classification defined by the Secretary that covers 
        a health-hazard situation in which there is a reasonable 
        probability that the use of the food or food product being 
        recalled will cause a serious, adverse health consequence or 
        death.
            ``(2) Food or food product.--The term `food or food 
        product' means--
                    ``(A) a meat or a meat food product (within the 
                meaning of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 
                601 et seq.));
                    ``(B) an egg or egg product (as defined in section 
                4 of the Egg Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1033)); 
                or
                    ``(C) a poultry or poultry product (as defined in 
                section 4 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 
                U.S.C. 453)).
            ``(3) Retail establishment.--The term `retail 
        establishment' means a grocery store or other retail 
        establishment that sells food and food products directly to 
        consumers.
            ``(4) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            ``(5) Summary notice.--The term `summary notice' means the 
        1-page summary notice described in subsection (b).
    ``(b) Distribution of Information.--In the case of any Class I 
recall, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 
distribute to each retail establishment in the United States a 1-page 
summary notice containing product information of each food or food 
product subject to the Class I recall.
    ``(c) Distribution of Information.--The Secretary shall require 
each retail establishment that receives a summary notice--
            ``(1) to post a copy of the summary notice at each cash 
        register of the retail establishment;
            ``(2) to post a copy of the summary notice on the shelving 
        unit on which the food or food product was sold; or
            ``(3) in the case of a retail establishment that uses a 
        customer card system to track customer purchases or 
        demographics--
                    ``(A) to place a call to each customer that 
                purchased a recalled food or food product to inform the 
                customer of the Class I recall; or
                    ``(B) to make available to each customer that 
                purchased a recalled food or food product with a 
                targeted coupon with information about the recalled 
                food or food product.
    ``(d) Assistance.--In cooperation with the Director of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers of Excellence of the 
Food and Drug Administration, the Secretary shall provide assistance to 
regional, State, and local agencies to assist in carrying out this 
section through activities such as providing resources, including 
timely information concerning symptoms and tests, for frontline health 
professionals interviewing individuals as part of routine surveillance 
and outbreak investigations.''.

SEC. 3. POULTRY AND POULTRY PRODUCTS.

    Section 4(g) of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 
453(g)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) if it is contaminated with Salmonella; or
            ``(11) if it is contaminated with Campylobacter.''.

SEC. 4. MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS.

    (a) Definition of Adulterated.--Section 1(m) of the Federal Meat 
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601(m)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) if it is contaminated with Salmonella;
            ``(11) if it is contaminated with Toxoplasma gondii; or
            ``(12) if it is contaminated with enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) 
        Shiga toxin-producing serotypes of Escherichia coli (E. 
        coli).''.
    (b)  E. Coli Reduction in Ground Beef.--Title I of the Federal Meat 
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

``SEC. 26. E. COLI REDUCTION IN GROUND BEEF.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall require that 
slaughterhouses, processing establishments, and grinding facilities 
described in subsection (b) test for the presence of E. coli at the 
following points:
            ``(1) At least 1 test at the slaughterhouse or processing 
        establishment at which source trim was produced and at least 1 
        test of the source trim or bench trim at the receiving facility 
        prior to combining with other lots from different sources.
            ``(2) If the source trim and grinding occurs at the same 
        facility, at least 1 test of the source trim and at least 1 
        test of the final ground product.
    ``(b) Application.--This section applies--
            ``(1) effective beginning on the date that is 180 days 
        after the date of enactment of this section, to--
                    ``(A) all slaughterhouses or processing 
                establishments that produce more than 25,000 pounds of 
                trim per day; or
                    ``(B) grinding facilities that grind more than 
                25,000 pounds of trim or bench trim per day; and
            ``(2) effective beginning on the date that is 3 years after 
        the date of enactment of this section, to all slaughterhouses, 
        processing establishments, and grinding facilities that produce 
        or grind trim or bench trim.
    ``(c) Administration.--To carry out this section, the Secretary 
shall--
            ``(1) approve definitions of lot sizes established by 
        establishments, except that an establishment--
                    ``(A) shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 
                Secretary scientific justification for the definition 
                of lot size proposed by the establishment; and
                    ``(B) shall not define a lot as more than 2,000 
                pounds;
            ``(2) establish testing standards;
            ``(3) assist processors in establishing appropriate 
        sampling plans for establishments through guidance documents; 
        and
            ``(4) in the case of a positive sample that indicates the 
        presence of E. coli in a lot of an establishment--
                    ``(A) verify that meat or meat food products 
                contaminated with the E. coli, and the entire lot that 
                is represented by the sample, are disposed of or 
                treated to eradicate the E. coli (in accordance with 
                guidelines of the Secretary) before entry into 
                commerce; and
                    ``(B) promulgate regulations that require that the 
                slaughterhouse or processing establishment takes 
                corrective action and establishes measures to prevent 
                reoccurrence.
    ``(d) Testing.--
            ``(1) In general.--A slaughterhouse or processing 
        establishment producing, or a grinding facility receiving, 
        trimmings shall test each lot using sampling standards and 
        procedures determined by the Secretary.
            ``(2) Testing facilities.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An establishment shall use an 
                independent testing facility that uses methods that are 
                at least equivalent in specificity and sensitivity to 
                the methods used by the Secretary to test beef 
                trimmings.
                    ``(B) Administration.--In using an independent 
                testing facility under subparagraph (A), the 
                establishment--
                            ``(i) shall contract with the facility on 
                        an annual basis; and
                            ``(ii) shall not terminate the contract on 
                        the basis of positive test results reported by 
                        the facility.
            ``(3) Proficiency testing service.--A laboratory that tests 
        beef for E. coli shall contract with a testing service to 
        verify the proficiency of the laboratory.
            ``(4) Transmission of testing results.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Test results of any testing 
                conducted under this subsection shall be sent to the 
                applicable slaughterhouse, processing establishment, or 
                grinding facility as soon as results are ready.
                    ``(B) Transmission to secretary.--The 
                slaughterhouse, processing establishment, or grinding 
                facility shall report any positive or presumptive 
                positive results directly to the Secretary through 
                electronic means not later than 24 hours after receipt 
                of results from a testing facility.
            ``(5) Habitual violators.--A slaughterhouse or processing 
        establishment that produces or distributes trim that receives 
        positive results that exceed the maximum allowable percentage 
        of positive results for 3 consecutive days, as determined by 
        the Secretary, or more than 10 instances per year shall be 
        listed on the public website of the Secretary as a habitual 
        violator.
            ``(6) Compliance.--The Secretary shall take necessary 
        regulatory action with respect to an establishment that fails 
        to test, notify the Secretary of positive results, or otherwise 
        comply with this subsection.
    ``(e) Imported Ground Beef.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any trim, bench trim, and ground beef 
        originating from outside the United States shall be subject to 
        the same requirements as apply to domestic trim, bench trim, 
        and ground beef under this section.
            ``(2) Verification.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To be eligible for importation 
                into the United States, a foreign facility shall 
                provide a certification of compliance with paragraph 
                (1) to a domestic slaughterhouse, processing 
                establishment, or grinding facility.
                    ``(B) Secondary testing.--The domestic 
                slaughterhouse, processing establishment, or grinding 
                facility shall verify the results of the certification 
                by conducting secondary testing of the trim, bench 
                trim, or ground beef before processing into a final 
                ground beef product.
    ``(f) Food Safety and Inspection Service Programs.--
            ``(1) Sampling program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary, acting through 
                the Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection 
                Service, (referred to in this subsection as the 
                `Secretary') shall develop a specific plan to redesign 
                the E. coli sampling and verification programs of the 
                Food Safety and Inspection Service, including by--
                            ``(i) prioritizing and carrying out 
                        necessary baseline studies of beef trim and 
                        ground beef to determine the estimated 
                        prevalence rate of E. coli;
                            ``(ii) reevaluating sample parameters in 
                        order to provide higher confidence in the 
                        programs;
                            ``(iii) improving verification of sanitary 
                        dressing at establishments; and
                            ``(iv) revising traceback methodology and 
                        information management.
                    ``(B) Notice and comment.--Prior to finalizing the 
                plan developed under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
                shall make available the plan for public notice and 
                comment.
            ``(2) Hazard analysis verification.--The Secretary shall 
        implement a hazard analysis verification inspection procedure 
        to identify issues of concern in the design of the food safety 
        systems of establishments.''.
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