“The years of inspection reports (here) leave little doubt that the Boar’s Head plant’s food safety plan must have been nonexistent,“ said food safety attorney Bill Marler. “It is hard to wrap my head around how food could be produced in these conditions by this company and under the gaze of FSIS inspectors."
It is time for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate committees to use their authority to get to the bottom of the Boar’s Head Listeria outbreak that has sickened at least 57, killing nine to date.
The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 is an American law that makes it illegal to adulterate or misbrand meat and meat products being sold as food and ensures that meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under strictly regulated sanitary conditions.
These House and Senate committees play crucial roles in shaping food safety regulations, appropriating funds for related programs, and overseeing the implementation of food safety measures within the USDA.
In the U.S. Congress, several committees oversee food safety and inspection services under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The primary committees involved are listed below.
The U.S. House of Representatives:
1. Committee on Agriculture: This committee has primary responsibility for legislation related to farming, nutrition, and agriculture in general. It oversees issues related to food safety, including the inspection of meat, poultry, and processed egg products.
2. Committee on Appropriations: Specifically, the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies oversees funding for the USDA’s food safety programs.
3. Committee on Energy and Commerce: This committee, particularly its subcommittee on health, has jurisdiction over food safety as it relates to public health and FDA-related matters.
U.S. Senate:
1. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Like its House counterpart, this Senate committee oversees agricultural policies, including food safety and the USDA’s inspection services.
2. Committee on Appropriations: Specifically, the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies also has oversight of the USDA’s budget and funding related to food safety.
3. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP): This committee addresses health issues, including food safety regulations and policies.
Bill Marler has been a food safety lawyer and advocate since the 1993 Jack-in-the-Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak which was chronicled in the book “Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. Coli Outbreak That Changed the Way Americans Eat” and in the recent Emmy Award-winning Netflix documentary, "Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food." Bill’s work has been profiled in The New Yorker, “A Bug in the System;” The Seattle Times, “30 years after the deadly E. coli outbreak, a Seattle attorney still fights for food safety;” The Washington Post, “He helped make burgers safer. Now he is fighting food poisoning again;” and several others.
Bill regularly speaks about the importance of preventing foodborne illness to industry and government throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, China, and Australia. He is a frequent commentator on food litigation and food safety to Marler Blog. Bill is also the publisher of Food Safety News.
For all media inquiries, please contact Julie Dueck at (206) 930-4220 or jdueck@marlerclark.com.