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U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman spoke to a UW audience last week at the Health Sciences Center. At his right are Provost Lee Huntsman and Dr. Paul Stehr-Green of the Washington State Department of Health. Photo by Jordan Rehm.
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Called Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), the new system requires meat and poultry plants to come up with a tailored prevention plan that targets key points in their operation where contamination might occur. Scientific tests for E. coli and Salmonella will replace inspectors' evaluations by sight, touch and smell.
"For the first time, plants and processors will be required to not just catch contamination, but close the safety gaps that invite it," he said.
In 1996, the U.S. Department of Agriculture shut down six plants for inadequate sanitation. In 1997, as plants phased in their HACCP plans, that number rose to 20, Glickman said.
The rules, which went into effect Jan. 26, are no "silver bullet," he said, but a first step in the department's policy on prevention. Glickman said now that USDA is adjusting its standards to reflect modern science, hopefully scientists can provide the technological breakthroughs to stop pathogens from showing up in the first place.
Glickman said the Clinton Administration will ensure the resources are there for researchers to make that happen. For fiscal 1999, the President will propose an increase of $101 million for enhanced food safety inspections, cutting edge research and food-borne disease surveillance, he said.
Glickman, a Kansas congressman for 18 years, became Agriculture Secretary in 1995 after his nomination by the President.
He was introduced at the UW forum by Provost Lee Huntsman. Earlier in the day, he met with the families of victims of a 1993 E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak that resulted in the deaths of three children in the Pacific Northwest.
Will Morton