On June 26, two members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent letters to several leaders in the food industry questioning the companies’ practice of packing fresh meat in carbon monoxide.
Sent by Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI), chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce (CEC), and Bart Stupak (D-MI), chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, to Safeway Stores, Inc., Tyson Foods, Inc., Pactiv Corporation and Precept Foods LLC (Hormel Foods Corporation/Cargill Incorporated), the letters voice the Committee’s “concerns about the public health consequences of this packaging and the ex parte decisions by FDA and FSIS that made such packaging lawful.” The companies have 30 days to respond to records requests and requests for responses.
Further, a CEC news release notes that the Committee is opening an investigation into FDA’s GRAS approval process.
More than a year ago, Energy and Commerce Committee democrats raised concerns about the dangers carbon monoxide packaging poses to the public health, particularly the elderly. In letters dated Feb. 9, 2006 and March 30, 2006, they requested that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and FDA remove products treated with carbon monoxide from markets until the safety of these products could be assessed. According to the CEC news release, “these requests were ignored.”
