HOUSE SEEKS INSPECTION PLAN DELAY

JOYCE BARRETT

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- A sweeping moratorium on government regulations moving through Congress could delay reforms of the 88-year-old meat and poultry inspection system, according to acting U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Richard Rominger.

The measure, which would suspend all government rule-making retroactively from Nov. 20, 1994 through the end of 1995, was overwhelmingly approved by the House Feb. 24 in a 276-146 vote. It is pending before the Senate and no vote has been set. Caught in the moratorium time frame is the proposed USDA regulation calling for a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point inspection system for the meat industry, proposed Feb. 3.

The HACCP proposal would require packing plants within 90 days of the regulations' final passage to employ anti-microbial testing and standardized sanitation practices. Within two years, the plants would have to meet target levels of permissible contamination. The proposal also involves a three-year phase-in of standards at each plant according to a HACCP system based on state-of-the-art inspection science that is already used by many meat and poultry processors.

"This reinvention of the meat and poultry system is not about more regulation," Rominger said in a statement. "It is about more effective and more sensible regulation. It is about safer food for families. Under the moratorium, however, the department would not be able to proceed with this historic regulation." The moratorium also would hinder the USDA in its response to threats to animal and plant health from pests and diseases, Rominger said.

Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y. unsuccessfully proposed an amendment to the measure that would have exempted USDA's proposed HACCP regulations, as well as regulations banning the importation of food in lead cans.

Rep. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said during the debate on Slaughter's bill, "The average American food inspector has less than a half a second to use his eyes and his nose in the age of the computer and electronic sensor to determine whether or not food is safe for your table, and they are missing thousands of times determining contaminated food."

Republican backers of the moratorium said Slaughter's amendment wasn't needed because of the exemption provided in the bill. "The bill is very specific in giving exemptions to these regulations that affect safety and health and food inspections," said bill sponsor Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

Industry backed the moratorium but took no stance on Slaughter's amendment. Officials for The American Meat Institute and the National-American Wholesale Grocers Association said Slaughter's plan was unnecessary because of the exemptions in the bill. The National Grocers Association sent letters to all House members on the day of the vote urging them to support the bill. "It is time to reduce the regulatory burden on American business," wrote Thomas Zaucha, NGA president and chief executive officer. "A number of regulations nearing final rule status will impose costs on American businesses totalling in the billions of dollars." He also cited proposed regulations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that would toughen air quality in public buildings as well as impose ergonomics standards to prevent workplace injury.