Food Safety

Rep. Waxman and other members of Congress have been seeking information on the safety of the U.S. food supply, including the federal government’s handling of recent outbreaks involving E. coli 0157:H7 and Listeria and the recent case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”).

Chronology

Tuesday, July 13, 2004
IG Audit Finds Multiple Flaws in Mad Cow Surveillance Plan
Rep. Waxman raises questions about the effectiveness and credibility of USDA's response to mad cow disease, citing an audit by the USDA Inspector General that finds systemic deficiencies in the Department's surveillance plan and new evidence that USDA misled the public in the wake of the detection of an infected cow in Washington State.
- IG Draft Audit
- Letter to USDA

Thursday, May 13, 2004
Failure To Test Staggering Cow May Reflect Wider Problems
Rep. Waxman raises concerns that the recent failure of USDA to test an impaired cow for BSE may not be an isolated incident, citing the failure of USDA to monitor whether cows condemned for central nervous system symptoms are actually tested for mad cow disease.
- Letter to USDA

Thursday, February 19, 2004
Support for California Oyster Ban
Rep. Waxman urges Governor Schwarzenegger to maintain a life-saving ban on the summer sale of raw Gulf Coast Oysters.
- Letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger

Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Washington State "Mad Cow" Walked on Day of Slaughter
Reps. Waxman and Tom Davis release eyewitness statements that the cow infected with BSE was not a “downer” cow, as has been claimed – calling into question USDA’s surveillance program for mad cow disease and the agency's credibility.
- Feb. 19 USDA Response
- Letter to USDA

Wednesday, July 23, 2003
California's Raw Oyster Regulation Saves Lives
Senator Boxer and Rep. Waxman urge the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference not to sanction California for its recent emergency regulation that protects consumers from potentially deadly raw Gulf Coast oysters.
- Letter to ISSC

Tuesday, May 27, 2003
FDA Plan to Lower Food Health Claim Standards
Sen. Boxer, Sen. Bingaman, Rep. Waxman, Rep. Markey, and Rep. Price protest an FDA plan to lower the scientific standards for agency approval of food health claims.
- Letter to HHS

Wednesday, May 21, 2003
USDA and OMB Asked About Influence of Meat Processing Industry on Listeria Testing
Rep. Waxman writes to USDA Secretary Veneman and OMB Director Daniels to seek information about whether the meat processing industry may have inappropriately influenced the development of USDA's directive on testing for Listeria contamination.
- Letter to USDA
- Letter to OMB

Friday, March 28, 2003
Company Asked to Explain Handling of E. coli Test Results
In a letter to Swift & Company, formerly ConAgra, Rep. Waxman, along with Sen. Durbin, Rep. DeLauro, Rep. Kaptur, Rep. Brown, and Rep. DeGette ask the company to explain who knew about key results before the outbreak began last summer
- Letter to Swift & Company

Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Company Knew of Contamination Before Outbreak
Rep. Waxman, along with Sen. Durbin, Rep. DeLauro, Rep. Kaptur, and Rep. Brown, reveal that ConAgra Beef Company knew its meat was testing positive for the deadly bacteria E. coli O157:H7 weeks before last summer's outbreak.
- Letter to USDA
- USDA Notice to ConAgra