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WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Vice Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, today reacted to the announcement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that they have, for the first time, identified a jalapeno pepper from a processing facility in Texas that tested positive for salmonella saintpaul.

“The fact that it has taken over 14 weeks to identify the source of the contamination is simply unacceptable. We still have yet to pinpoint whether the contamination occurred at this facility, the farm, or someplace in between.  What’s worse, because we do not yet know where this facility distributed its products, we cannot identify and pull only these tainted peppers from store shelves and from restaurant menus. Much like tomato industry, the result is a blanket warning that will decimate the entire industry and further depress consumer confidence when only a tiny fraction of peppers may be contaminated.

“This recent outbreak has proven that this country needs a comprehensive, electronic traceability system. Congress must act now on behalf of the American consumer to make traceability an essential component of our food safety system to restore public confidence.”

 

 

U.S. Rep. DeGette has advocated for both mandatory recall and traceability since 2002.  The mandatory recall authority has been included in the Energy and Commerce Committee’s discussion draft, the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2008. DeGette is also working with the Committee to include traceability, H.R. 3485 as well.

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