Clinton to Order Crackdown on Importers of Tainted Food

The Clinton administration will announce tough measures today to stop unscrupulous importers who bring spoiled food into the U.S., food safety sources said Friday.

President Clinton, in his weekly radio address, will order U.S. Customs and the Food and Drug Administration to step up efforts to catch growing numbers of shippers who repackage tainted food and sneak shipments in after being rejected, the sources said.

Importers have been caught doing such things as trying to sell decomposed shrimp, repackaging spoiled food rejected by port inspectors and searching for U.S. ports of entry known to be understaffed, according to a General Accounting Office report issued last year.

“The president is taking steps to increase the number of import checks for foods,” said one source, speaking on condition of anonymity. “This is intended to stop people who clearly are trying to mislead regulators and violate the law through port shopping.”

FDA and White House spokeswomen declined to comment.

The FDA’s 450 inspectors have been overwhelmed by a rapid increase in food imports during the last five years and are able to check less than 2% of incoming shipments.

Agents with the Customs Service, who are also stationed in U.S. ports, have typically focused on illegal drugs rather than tainted food when checking import shipments.

An estimated 9,000 Americans die each year after eating tainted food, and tens of millions are sickened by it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Under the tougher rules to be announced by Clinton, U.S. Customs will be given more authority to retain shipments of adulterated food and make sure they are destroyed. Regulators will also be able to stamp cartons as “rejected” so they cannot reenter at a busier U.S. port, the sources said.