October 11, 2007
Contact: Robin Winchell (202)
225-4031
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Charlie
Melancon (D -LA) took part in a
Congressional hearing today examining the safety of food imported into the United States.
Rep. Melancon serves as the vice chair of the House subcommittee that held
today's hearing, the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight
and Investigations.
During his opening statement, Rep.
Melancon brought attention to recent actions by the Louisiana Department of
Agriculture to test for dangerous chemicals in imported food. He also
brought attention to the unfair playing field Louisiana's shrimpers and fishermen are
forced to compete on because of the lax food safety standards in other
countries. Rep. Melancon told his colleagues, "My district, which
depends largely on the fishing industry - shrimp, crawfish, fresh caught fish,
is struggling to compete with imports from foreign countries that do not have
the same food safety standards as we have in the U.S."
Rep. Melancon continued, "Since
the Food and Drug Administration only tests 1% of food imports, Louisiana's Department
of Agriculture has taken it upon themselves to test for these dangerous
chemicals. They have repeatedly found concentrations of chloramphenicol
and fluoroquinolones, among other chemicals, in imported seafood - particularly
from producers based in China.
Despite evidence of chemicals and antibiotics in imported seafood, the FDA
still allows tainted food to enter the United States."
Rep. Melancon concluded, "I am
seriously concerned about the safety of food imported from countries that lack
food safety standards equivalent to those in the United States and hope that we can
soon find a better system for monitoring food imports."
During the hearing, Rep. Melancon
questioned representatives from both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and
the United States Department of Agriculture on the adequacy of their efforts to
protect Americans from unsafe, imported food. The hearing also examined
what quality control systems other countries have for ensuring the safety of
food imported into their countries.
In recent years, the globalization
of the American economy has resulted in a dramatic increase in the amount of
imported food. Between 1996 and 2006, the amount of U.S. imports of
agricultural and seafood products from all countries increased by 42
percent. It is estimated that approximately 15 percent of all food
consumed in the United
States is now imported. In 2005, 84
percent of all fish and shellfish consumed in the United States was imported.
On Friday,
October 4, the Committee on Energy and Commerce released a report on its
findings from a staff trip to China
to investigate the safety of its food export system. The report is posted
on the Committee website: http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_110/110-rpt.100407.ChinaTripReport.pdf.
Rep. Melancon's full statement
from today's hearing follows.
Mr. Chairman,
Thank you for holding this
hearing today. I am quite concerned about the lack of screening of 80% of the United States'
food supply. My district, which depends largely on the fishing industry -
shrimp, crawfish, fresh caught fish, is struggling to compete with imports from
foreign countries that do not have the same food safety standards as we have in
the U.S.
Countries like China, Taiwan, and Vietnam - just to name a few -
import seafood that is produced in farms, not fresh caught. Catching wild
shrimp and fish is much more labor- and capita- intensive, so fresh caught
seafood is more expensive than farm raised. Farms try to produce as much
product as possible, so they overpopulate ponds. Because the ponds have no
fresh water circulation, they become filled with bacteria. The farmers
then pump antibiotics and other chemicals into the water to kill the
bacteria. These chemicals have been shown to cause cancer in animals and
humans.
Since the Food and Drug Administration
only tests 1% of food imports, Louisiana's
Department of Agriculture has taken it upon themselves to test for these
dangerous chemicals. They have repeatedly found concentrations of
chloramphenicol and fluoroquinolones, among other chemicals, in imported
seafood - particularly from producers based in China. Despite evidence of
chemicals and antibiotics in imported seafood, the FDA still allows tainted
food to enter the United
States.
I am happy that the FDA finally
made an Import Alert for farm-raised catfish, basa, dace, eel, and shrimp from China in June, but we've known about tainted and
contaminated imports from China
for years. Louisiana's Department of Agriculture has also found
evidence of chemicals and antibiotics in crawfish tail meat from China, yet the
FDA is still allowing this tainted meat to enter our food supply.
Furthermore, an Import Alert
does not necessarily mean that these tainted products will be prevented from
entering the US.
Rather, an Import Alert means that field agents detain the product - not
destroy it or return it to the originating country - and wait for the importer
to show that the shipment is not tainted. The FDA requires an independent
lab test for proof, but the FDA doesn't certify labs, so anyone can open a lab
and provide test results.
These are just a few of the
problems that we in this Committee have discussed previously and will continue
to examine until the food we import is safe. I am seriously concerned
about the safety of food imported from countries that lack food safety
standards equivalent to those in the United States and hope that we can
soon find a better system for monitoring food imports.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman
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