Clinton Wants Listeria Testing for Meat

A plan proposed by President Clinton on Saturday would require meat-product companies to test their factories for the deadly Listeria bacterium in an effort to cut the number of illnesses and deaths it causes in half by 2005.

Listeria sickens about 2,000 people a year, about the same as the E. coli bacterium. But Listeria results in death in about 25% of cases, as opposed to about 5% for E. coli. About 76 million Americans fall ill and 5,000 die annually from all types of tainted food, federal health officials estimate.

Listeria cases dipped in the late 1980s, but have increased again in recent years, according to Lester M. Crawford, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Food and Nutrition Policy.

The Clinton proposal, which could be blocked by Congress, is one of a series of food-safety initiatives he has pushed as president. In his weekly radio address, which he used to promote the Listeria initiative, Clinton also said he was disappointed that Congress recently obstructed funding for an egg safety measure to reduce the incidence of Salmonella bacteria.

“We should be doing more, not less, to ensure the safety of our food,” Clinton said.

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials expect to unveil specific Listeria-testing rules in about four months. Processors would have to test their equipment, floors and other areas for the bacteria, which can be found everywhere from water to human hair. Vegetables, meat, poultry and dairy products can all carry Listeria.

Tim Willard, a spokesman for the National Food Processors Assn., said the industry intends to work with government officials to “put together rules that truly enhance food safety, rather than just food-safety window-dressing.”

He added that many factories already do “some form of microbiological testing,” including for Listeria. “A lot of what the president is talking about is already in place.”

Government agencies, consumer groups and industry representatives will meet May 15 to discuss how to reduce the presence of Listeria, he said.

Systematic testing of the meat products themselves would not be required under Saturday’s proposal. Government inspectors now do random exams.

Consumer groups have advocated mandatory product testing and warning labels on foods that have caused listeriosis.

The industry has promoted irradiation of processed, ready-to-eat foods as an effective way to exterminate a range of bacteria, including Listeria.

“Testing for pathogens can be helpful,” said Jim Hodges, president of the American Meat Institute Foundation. “But testing doesn’t kill pathogens--technology does.”

The industry asked the Food and Drug Administration last year for permission to irradiate processed food, as is already allowed for fresh meat. The request is under review.

Listeria rarely harms healthy people but can be fatal to fetuses, newborns, the elderly and those with poor immune systems.

In March, Sara Lee Corp. recalled 34,500 pounds of Ball Park franks from stores in 15 Eastern and Midwest states after investigators found Listeria in the hot dogs. Sixteen months before that, 21 people died after eating processed meats contaminated with Listeria from a Sara Lee packing plant in Michigan.