Denver - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman on Thursday reiterated the agency's argument that having U.S. meatpackers pay the full cost of inspection would neither compromise food safety nor jeopardize consumer confidence.
"As long as the inspectors work for the United States of America -- I don't think that's going to drop confidence," Glickman told reporters after addressing the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Glickman said he did not know if Congress would go along with the Clinton administration budget proposal. Some Republican leaders have criticized the plan, calling it a hidden tax on consumers.
"More and more the budget is getting stretched so if we want to keep this food safety apparatus going we need the dollars generated by the fees to do it," Glickman said.
He said if the industry passed on to consumers the full cost of the meat inspection it would amount to about one U.S. cent per pound. "Most people say that is not too high a price to pay for it," he added.
Companies currently pay a portion of the cost of meat inspection, such as for overtime, Glickman said.
The administration's proposal would require meatpackers to pay about $579 million in "user fees" to cover the full cost of meat inspection in fiscal year 1999.
Glickman said the USDA needs more tools to insure food safety. "One of the things I think would give consumers a little more confidence is that if they knew we had a variety of authorities, which I have asked for and we're going to continue to ask for," Glickman said.
The USDA cannot specifically order the shutdown of a meat processing plant. However, it can pull meat inspectors out, which prevents meat from being shipped across state lines and can effectively amount to a shutdown.
Press Here for Info on Setting Your Own Web Site
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
Web Site: http://www.spcnetwork.com/mii