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USDA more vigilant following strawberry scare

students

April 17, 1997
Web posted at: 11:17 p.m. EDT (0317 GMT)

In this story:

From Correspondent Eugenia Halsey

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Contaminated strawberries grown in Mexico made 187 school children in Michigan sick not long ago and forced thousands more in five other states to be immunized against the hepatitis A virus.

Word that the berries were from Mexico caught a lot of people off-guard, since U.S. government regulations say all food bought through the national school lunch program must be grown in the United States.

At a congressional hearing Thursday, officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said violations of the rule are rare, but they are taking additional steps to ensure they will be followed in the future.

berries

"Additional information will be required of contractors when they certify to the domestic origin of their products," Mary Ann Keeffe of the USDA said. "And this documentation will be reviewed before shipment is permitted."

In addition to tightening vendor certification and conducting random audits, the USDA's marketing service has begun requiring information such as packing dates, lot numbers, country of origin and a variety of identifying marks on all shipments.

USDA had heard rumors about shipper

"Basically, we're laying out a road map so that we're able to fully trace back the origin of the product," said Deputy Administrator Ken Clayton.

Clayton also said the service is emphasizing the USDA domestic-origin policy and the penalties for violating it.

USDA officials admitted there were rumors in January that the company that processed the berries, Andrew & Williamson Sales Co. of San Diego, might be processing and distributing Mexican berries. They said, however, that the agency didn't have a chance to follow up on the report.

kildee

That explanation sounded lame to Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Michigan, who said, "It seems to me that would have been an alarm bell and that you should have responded."

Officials say they still don't know the source of the contamination. It may have occurred during processing in California, but they said it is clear that the conditions under which the berries were grown in Mexico were less than sanitary.

Berries grown next to open toilets

"These included open, unlined pit privies (toilets) immediately adjacent to the fields," said Fred Shank of the USDA. "There were too few facilities for the crews to practice proper sanitation practices. There were no hand-washing facilities."

USDA officials said that, as the processor of the berries, Andrew & Williamson is still being investigated for possible violations.

Providing false statements concerning the origin of a product is a criminal offense punishable by fines and up to five years in prison. Civil penalties include losing federal contracts and losing the license to sell perishable agricultural commodities.

Although the Mexican government has denied the contamination occurred in that country, USDA officials also said they plan to meet with Mexican government officials soon to discuss food-safety issues.

 
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