[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 1, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E638]]
                         KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 1, 2003

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about a silent 
killer lurking among us and our children. That killer comes in the form 
of food-borne illnesses and affects 76 million people each year. Of 
those individuals, approximately 325,000 will be hospitalized and more 
than 5,000 will die. While many adults will be fortunate to avoid the 
devastating, lasting effects of food-borne illness, our children are 
especially vulnerable and comprise nearly 40 percent of the victims.
  Each day, more than 27 million children eat lunches provided through 
the National School Lunch Act. Despite increased attention in recent 
years to the safety of those meals provided to our school children, 
there is evidence of serious problems with our school lunch system. 
Between 1990 and 2000, there were nearly 100 reported outbreaks of 
food-borne illness in schools affecting thousands of children, many of 
them resulting in significant health consequences.
  I attended a hearing last year examining food safety standards in our 
schools and found significant gaps in how we protect our children from 
these dangerous illnesses. Only 17 percent of the food served in our 
schools is subject to stringent United States Department of Agriculture 
(USDA) safety guidelines for dangerous pathogens. Safety histories of 
the companies that supply food to our schools are not being shared with 
the school officials who purchase the food. If the USDA or FDA quickly 
announce that a manufacturer has produced tainted food, states often 
have no way to determine if they have that food in their schools' 
kitchens due to a complex web of food manufacturers, distributors and 
brokers. The federal government has no authority to mandate the recall 
of contaminated foods sold to schools.
  Today, along with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, I am introducing a bill 
that will address these concerns. The Safe School Food Act incorporates 
USDA safety guidelines into school procurement contracts to the maximum 
extent possible, giving the Secretary of Agriculture authority to 
require pathogen testing of foods purchased by schools, providing state 
education agencies with current vendor information, developing 
effective methods to share supplier safety information with schools, 
allowing for mandatory recall of any tainted food, and providing 
districts with tools and information on how to more safely prepare food 
served to our children.
  Our food supply has been identified as a possible target of 
terrorists and we need to protect it and protect our children. This is 
a very serious issue and we must do all we can to ensure the safety of 
our children.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Safe School Food Act and support 
the well-being of our children.

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