October 15, 2007
Senator Charles Schumer has a plan to give the Department of Agriculture more power to keep consumers safe.
Following a wave of recent beef recalls, Schumer says he plans to introduce legislation that would give the USDA the authority to temporarily shut down contaminated processing plants. Right now, the USDA only has the power to recommend a shut down or recalls to a plant.
"The USDA, in recent years, has become a toothless tiger when it comes to keeping our meat safe and keeping our meat clean,” said Schumer. “The wave of recent recalls has to be a wakeup call to keep our safety house in order, once and for all."
A recent e-coli scare dealt such a blow to Topps Beef that it closed its door entirely after a big recall.