• Oil, Natural Gas, and Electric Deregulation



• Stopping the Nuclear Relapse



• Interactive Map of Proposed New Reactors



• The Case Against Nuclear Power



• The Case for Renewables and Efficiency



• Energy Legislation



• Press Room



• Congressional Voting Records



• Take Action!

Letter from Public Citizen Requesting and Investigation into the 19 million Pound Recall of Meat processed by ConAgra

July 25, 2002

Dear Chairmen:

We are writing to request that your committees conduct an in-depth investigation into the events that led to the massive 19 million pound recall of meat processed by ConAgra at its Greeley, Colorado plant and into the manner in which the United States Department of Agriculture has implemented the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) program.

We have documents revealing that there are major deficiencies in the food safety inspection system for meat and poultry at the United States Department of Agriculture. The ConAgra recall is indicative of a system that is broken, and, until remedial actions are taken, the public’s health and welfare are being placed at serious risk. To date, over twenty people in seven states have been confirmed as ill from consuming meat produced at this plant.

We have obtained extensive email documentation showing that the ConAgra recall might have been prevented had the USDA followed its own HACCP procedures. Specifically, we have evidence that top officials at the USDA knew that meat contaminated with E.coli 0157:H7 had almost certainly been shipped by the Greeley, Colorado ConAgra plant as early as February 2002.

Further evidence shows that plant inspectors and field supervisors working for the USDA strongly recommended and urged their superiors to conduct further scientific investigation, but their suggestions were rebuffed, and they were even chastised for making these recommendations. The ConAgra recall is only the latest indicator of a more widespread and systemic problem with the manner in which the USDA is implementing HAACP. HAACP’s promise was that scientific tools would be used to dramatically increase consumer protection. Our two organizations were original supporters of HAACP. But the evidence is mounting that USDA’s "science" is little more than rhetoric:

Our recently published a report entitled, "Hamburger Hell," illustrated how the USDA’s shoddy implementation of its microbial testing program has undermined the effectiveness of this tool to protect the public. Incidentally, our report found that ConAgra’s plant in Cactus, Texas was the ground beef plant with the worst compliance record, failing the USDA’s scientific performance standard repeatedly from June 1999 through at least October 2001. Despite the public health threat, the USDA continued to give its stamp of approval to all ground beef sold by that plant.

A recently-leaked draft of a General Accounting Office (GAO) report identified similar deficiencies with the testing program and cited numerous lapses in the scientific rigor of USDA’s HAACP program.

Very significantly, this 2002 GAO report reiterated findings by USDA’s own inspector-general who found in 2000 that USDA "reduced its oversight beyond what was prudent and necessary for the protection of the consumer."

Given the magnitude of the public health threat, and the unwillingness by the USDA to address problems and deficiencies that have repeatedly been brought to its attention, we believe that it is time for the Congress to conduct a full review of HAACP. Because of the evidence cited above, the USDA can no longer be trusted to conduct its own investigation into these issues. It more than warrants an outside review. In order to protect the public, we believe that Congress should assert its oversight responsibility. The Congress has appropriated considerable resources since 1996 to implement HAACP. The time has come to find out how that money has been spent.

We urge you to hold in-depth hearings on this matter. In addition to the top USDA officials, you should call on former USDA officials, including the former inspector-general, plant inspectors, industry officials, consumer representatives, USDA laboratory officials, and the GAO to testify. Our organizations have been contacted by USDA field personnel who would like to come forward to lend assistance to any investigation that takes place on HACCP implementation, but are afraid of retaliation by the Department. But they would feel more protected if subpoenaed. We offer our assistance in identifying key subject matter experts for this necessary examination of USDA’s food safety inspection program.

We appreciate your consideration of this matter. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact either one of us.

Sincerely,

cc: Senator Richard Lugar
Senator Fred Thompson
Senator Robert Byrd
Senator Ted Stevens
Representative Charles Stenholm
Representative Henry Waxman
Representative C.W. Bill Young
Representative David Obey

more resources

Because Public Citizen does not accept funds from corporations, professional associations or government agencies, we can remain independent and follow the truth wherever it may lead. But that means we depend on the generosity of concerned citizens like you for the resources to fight on behalf of the public interest. If you would like to help us in our fight, click here.