CHICAGO - A meat industry official opposed the U.S. Agriculture Department's efforts to increase its authority to recall meat suspected of being contaminated.
"It seems to me it's not necessary to give the secretary (of Agriculture) more recall authority," American Meat Institute President Patrick Boyle told Reuters.
Boyle, who was in Chicago attending a two-day meat industry conference ahead of AMI's annual meeting, said the U.S. Agriculture Department has the authority to detain and seize suspected meat. Also, he said meat companies have always cooperated in recalling suspected meat.
In the wake of three beef recalls this year because of possible contaimination by the deadly E.Coli O157:H7 bacteria, USDA sought authority to make mandatory recalls and impose civil fines. One of the recalls involved 25 million lbs of ground beef by Hudson Foods Inc (HFI), the largest meat recall in history.
"I do not think USDA needs a mandatory recall policy," said Boyle.
He said the government and meat industry should focus on preventing contamination and on consumer education. He said the government should approve use of irradiation to kill bacteria on red meat and promote consumer education efforts.
Early this month, a Food and Drug Administration spokesman said the agency would likely approve irradiation for red meat by the end of the year. The FDA has been reviewing the issue for three years.
Currently fresh meat products carry labels explaining safe handling and preparation methods, but Boyle said an industry survey showed only a third of consumers surveyed noticed the labels and a third of them read the label's information.
"We really need a comprehensive consumer education program," he said.
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