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USDA Considering Withholding Recall Information

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

In the wake of the country’s largest ground beef recall in history, the USDA is considering applying a new rule to inform consumers of retailers which supplied recalled products.  This rule, however, would only cover Class I recalls, or those which the USDA considers most dangerous.  The Hallmark/Westland beef recall of 143 million pounds of ground beef shows the issues associated with this new rule. The recall was considered a Class II recall, and would not have fallen under the rule, so that consumers would not have known where the beef was supplied.

Hallmark/Westland, however, is a California-based company, falling under California jurisdiction, a state which releases a list of retailers in all recalls. Consumers could find information through the state of California and its nearly 150 page list of retailers.  Because the recall involved ground beef, it is almost impossible for consumers to determine whether or not their purchases are part of recall due to repackaging at retailers.  When the USDA and FSIS release a recall, they often give information on where the recalled product was manufactured, but with the ground beef, the consumer is still completely in the dark.  This means that if this new rule is passed, and there is another recall like Hallmark/Westland, but not in the state of California, consumers would have no idea whether or not they were purchasing recalled beef.

Food industry groups believe that expanding the rule, or even including the rule as it is would negatively affect the market for competitive reasons. If retailer information was public knowledge, competitors would know which retailers to approach with better prices.  Without the rule, the food industry could go on as normal at the cost of withholding vital information of foodborne illness from the American public. Dr. Richard Raymond, USDA undersecretary for food safety, believes that is important for consumers to have as much information about recalls as possible.

According to Time,

In an interview this week Raymond said that it was "common sense to assume" that some consumers may have fallen ill because they didn't have access to names of retailers selling tainted meat. But he disputed the suggestion that industry opposition — expressed in written and public comments, meetings with the White House Office of Management and Budget, and other venues — has stalled the rule.

Recall information is one of the most important ways to ensure the health and safety of consumers. Giving retailer information in Class I recalls is most definitely a fantastic start, but limiting it only to those recalls would mean an absence of knowledge in some of the largest recalls issued, such as the Hallmark/Westland recall.  The food industry may not like having all the information public knowledge, but the information would greatly improve public health and perhaps spur greater care for quality products on the manufacturer’s part.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on March 29, 2008 (boomark / email).