II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1157 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.

1.

Short title

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

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:

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.

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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. .

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:

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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