Following the announcement last week by seven meat and retail industry trade groups that they were filing suit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture to block a new meat testing program, SN interviewed representatives from several chains and a consumer group about their reactions to the move.
Jay Roche, director of customer services for Roche Bros., Wellesley Hills, Mass., said he strongly endorses government food-safety programs, including the random testing of ground beef. But, he said, "the government should start with the processor before the retailer."
Roche said that his company already has its own food-safety program in place. Every few weeks meat samples are sent to an independent lab to be tested for E. coli and fat content. Gloves are also used to handle all product and changed when working with different species. And grinding machines are cleaned twice a day.
Mickey Clerc, vice president and director of public relations for Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla., wouldn't comment directly on last week's lawsuit, but said that it isn't unusual for the government to inspect products in-store.
"That is part of the system. They can inspect our stores and that is their responsibility to see that the food supply is safe and wholesome."
But, he noted, "the contamination problem comes down not from the point of sale, but is probably further back in the food chain."
An industry source, who asked not to be named, said the problem with this type of random testing program is that it shifts the responsibility away from the consumer to handle, store and prepare ground beef properly. "And that was the whole point of the safe handling labels," he said, referring to labels implemented this year on meat packages that provide instruction on how to properly handle meat.
Additionally, he said, "if they are going to do random testing, it should be done in the back room, before it is mixed, when we can still tell where it came from."
Paul Bernish, director of public relations for Kroger Co., Cincinnati, the country's largest supermarket chain, said the company supports the lawsuit, but deferred to the Food Marketing Institute, Washington, for further comment.
FMI was one of the seven plaintiffs.
Brian Dowling, director of public affairs for Safeway, Oakland, Calif., declined to comment on the testing program, saying, "We are letting FMI speak for us."
Ronnie Cummins, director of Food & Water, Washington, a consumer advocacy group, also is a critic of USDA's random sampling program, which began last month. He called it an "inadequate response to a public health crisis."
He said the root of the problem is at the meat packing and processing plants, which he described as "filthy."
