February 24, 1999

Mr. Speaker.

Almost a year ago a number of my colleagues and I introduced legislation aimed at improving the safety of the imported food consumed by Americans. The Congress failed to act. Regrettably, consumers continue to become sick, and in too many cases die, from eating contaminated food. These tragedies are avoidable. We have the means to arm FDA with sufficient authority and resources to protect our food supply. There are exciting advances in technology that may make tests for microbial and pesticide contamination easy to perform and affordable.

The bill we are introducing today is virtually the same as the one we introduced last year. To its critics, including many of my colleagues in the majority, I say, let us see your proposals. Let’s do the people’s business and improve the safety of our food supply. I challenge the majority to at least hold a hearing on the subject of food safety. Let’s hear from consumers, public health experts, and all others with an interest in this matter. I am confident that none will dare defend the status quo.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) has reported that as many as 81 million cases of foodborne illness occur each year. Perhaps as many as 9,100 of these cases result in death. Under our current food import program there is virtually no preventive testing. Food shows up on the dock. Less than one percent of fresh fruit and vegetables are tested. The tests take a week or more to yield results. In the meantime the food is long gone, by then consumed. Let me repeat that point. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) too often waits for consumers to get sick or die before it tries to determine whether the food supply contains pathogenic contaminants. The outrageous and wholly intolerable conclusion one must draw is that American consumers are being used as guinea pigs.

There are special problems with imports. FDA lacks authority and resources to "trace back" the source of food borne illness beyond the border. Furthermore, imported food inspected by FDA fails to meet certain government health standards nearly three times more often than domestically produced food. Any preventive detection FDA might attempt would be futile, because FDA lacks adequate tests to detect pathogens on imported food in a timely manner. Finally, FDA cannot even account for what happens to imported fruits and vegetables that are adulterated.

The Imported Food Safety Act of 1999 is critically important from a public health standpoint. It is also consistent with the international trade obligations of the United States. The World Trade Organization’s Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures reaffirmed that health and safety considerations take priority over trade. Member countries may, for justifiable health and safety reasons, impose more stringent requirements on imported products such as food than they require of domestic goods. This legislation is consistent with this exception.

Imports now account for approximately 38 percent of all the fruit and 12 percent of all the vegetables Americans consume each year. The volume of food imported into the U.S. has almost doubled over the last 5 years, yet the frequency of FDA inspections has declined sharply during the same period of time. FDA acknowledges that it is "in danger of being overwhelmed by the volume of products reaching U.S. ports."

Even if FDA could perform more inspections, FDA does not have the tests it needs to detect E. coli, salmonella, and other pathogens in imported fruits and vegetables. As recently as 1997, all of the microbiological samples that FDA collected and tested were in response to foodborne illness. None were for preventive detection. There has been little improvement since then.

GAO has studied this situation and has concluded that the federal government cannot ensure that imported foods are safe. In response to this crisis, the President has said FDA needs increased resources, more authority, and improved research and technology. The Imported Food Safety Act of 1999 addresses each of these points. The legislation provides additional resources in the form of a modest user fee on imported foods, and a "Manhattan Project" to develop "real time" tests that yield results within 60 minutes to detect E. coli, salmonella, and other microbial and pesticide contaminants in food. Finally, the legislation gives FDA authority, comparable to that of the U.S. Department of Agriculture with respect to imported poultry and meat, to stop unsafe food at the border and to assure that its ultimate disposition is not America's dinner table.

I would also note that the FY 2000 budget for the President’s food safety initiative contains a modest funding increase over previous funding levels. Even under the most optimistic funding and allocation scenarios, the amount requested is inadequate to meet the resources needed to ensure that Americans have healthy food on their dinner table.

Thank you.