Chairman Miller Asks GAO to Expand Investigation into Contaminated Beef in School Meals
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In light of several recent deadly outbreaks of E. coli that led to a recall of ground beef from major supermarkets, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the risk of contaminated beef from the commercial market entering the school meal programs. This would be part of an investigation GAO launched at Miller’s request last year into the safety of meat served in school cafeterias.A recently issued GAO report identified standards and procedures to help reduce the risk of school children consuming recalled food purchased as commodities to use in school meals. The report specifically focused on eliminating contaminated food provided to schools through the commodity food program for use in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) school meal programs. In his letter today, Miller asked GAO to also examine what protocols exist to ensure foods, specifically processed meat, that schools purchase on the commercial market, outside of USDA’s commodity program, is safe.
“I write because I remain concerned about the safety of our nation’s food supply and whether there is an undue risk for food contaminated with dangerous pathogens to be unknowingly purchased by schools for use in the school meal programs,” wrote Miller, whose committee has jurisdiction over school nutrition programs. “Recent media reports have drawn our attention yet again to significant recalls of contaminated ground beef that was available in the commercial marketplace. Although there are no reports of schools being implicated in any of the food safety illnesses related to this latest wave of recalls, I am concerned that the systems in place do not adequately minimize schools’ risk for procuring and providing contaminated products purchased through commercial channels for use in the school meal programs.”
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that beef contaminated with E. coli, produced at a New York meat processing plant, killed two people and sent 16 others to the hospital. That outbreak led to the recall of over 500,000 pounds of ground beef from retailers, including Trader Joe’s, Price Chopper’s and Giant Foods. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that all ground beef made available to schools through the commodity program be tested for E.coli, ground beef processed and sold to schools on the commercial market is not subject to the same minimum standards. It is currently up to local school districts to decide whether to require ground beef products purchased from the commercial market to undergo similar quality and safety testing as USDA commodity products.
The full text of the letter is below.
Mr. Gene L. Dodaro
Acting Comptroller General
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Dear Mr. Dodaro:
I write because I remain concerned about the safety of our nation’s food supply and whether there is an undue risk for food contaminated with dangerous pathogens to be unknowingly purchased by schools for use in the school meal programs. In light of this concern, I ask that GAO investigate the food safety standards and procedures within the complex partnership of federal, state, and local entities responsible for ensuring the safety of food procured through commercial channels for use in the school meal programs.
In response to a request several fellow lawmakers and I made in the wake of highly publicized food recalls early last year, GAO issued a report in September focused upon food purchased for use in schools through the federal commodities program. While this report provides important information to help ensure the safety of the school meal programs, I am especially concerned about beef purchased on the commercial market and not through the federal commodity program that GAO focused upon in its September report. Recent media reports have drawn our attention yet again to significant recalls of contaminated ground beef that was available in the commercial marketplace. Although there are no reports of schools being implicated in any of the food safety illnesses related to this latest wave of recalls, I am concerned that the systems in place do not adequately minimize schools’ risk for procuring and providing contaminated product purchased through commercial channels for use in the school meal programs.
Accordingly, I respectfully request that GAO investigate whether sufficient protocols and standards exist at the federal, state, and local levels to ensure the safety of meat and other food procured by schools through commercial channels. Specifically, I ask that GAO compare the protocols and standards for ensuring the safety of foods made available to schools purchased through the federal commodity program to the protocols and standards for similar foods purchased from the commercial market. I also ask that GAO investigate whether there is any deficiency in the safety and quality of ground beef sold or made available to schools in the commercial marketplace compared to the safety and quality standards demanded by other buyers of the same product in the marketplace.
Thank you for your attention to this issue.
Sincerely,
GEORGE MILLER
Chairman
Committee on Education and Labor
Cc: Richard Durbin
Senator
John Kline
Ranking Member, Committee on Education and Labor
Carolyn McCarthy
Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Healthy Families
Rosa DeLauro
Chairwoman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture
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