July, 29 2013, 04:32pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Email:,info(at)fwwatch(dot)org,Seth Gladstone -,sgladstone@fwwatch.org
Imported Chilean Chicken Contaminated with Dioxin Reveals Threat of Increased Imports
A "public notification" issued by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on the afternoon of Saturday, July 27, regarding the recall of nearly 200,000 pounds of chicken imported from Chile due to dioxin contamination, exposes gaps in the USDA's system for protecting the public. Today consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch called on the USDA to explain several critical questions about its system for regulating imports:
WASHINGTON
A "public notification" issued by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on the afternoon of Saturday, July 27, regarding the recall of nearly 200,000 pounds of chicken imported from Chile due to dioxin contamination, exposes gaps in the USDA's system for protecting the public. Today consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch called on the USDA to explain several critical questions about its system for regulating imports:
- When did FSIS first learn of the problem and was there a lag in issuing a press release on the issue?
- What role did FSIS port-of-entry inspection procedures play in the identifying this problem?
- The 2012 audit of Chilean food safety system conducted by FSIS indicated that the Chilean food safety authority was bolstering its staff training on dioxin contamination in meat and poultry products. How long has dioxin contamination been an issue with imported products from Chile?
- According to the World Health Organization, "Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer" and "due to the highly toxic potential of this class of compounds, efforts need to be undertaken to reduce current background exposure." Therefore, why does FSIS not consider this particular case a serious public health concern? Why was the press release not a "recall" or a "public health alert" - a phrase that the agency has decided to use in recent months in the case of imported meat, poultry, and egg products - to accurately reflect the severity of the problem?
The 2007 equivalency determination made by FSIS on the Chilean food safety system for imported poultry showed the system was plagued by problems - causing the agency to perform a "do-over" since it was sloppy in its analysis (see here and here).
In addition, there have been other food safety issues with imported food products from Chile. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently has 15 Import Alerts posted on its website for various imported food products from Chile ranging from pesticide contamination on imported fruit to seafood containing high levels of methyl mercury.
Chile is part of the ongoing, closed-door trade negotiations to create the Trans-Pacific Partnership. "The Obama Administration needs to take note of the food safety issues plaguing Chile and it needs to ensure that food safety standards are not sacrificed to advance global trade in food," said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter.
Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.
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Israeli Settlers, Soldiers 'Wiping Palestinian Communities Off the Map' in the West Bank
"While the attention of the world is focused on Gaza, abuses in the West Bank, fueled by decades of impunity and complacency among Israel's allies, are soaring."
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Israeli soldiers have either passively watched or participated in the uprooting of at least seven communities in the West Bank since October of last year, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday in a new report documenting surging settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The rights group interviewed dozens of eyewitnesses and examined video footage showing harassment and other abuse of Palestinians in the West Bank "by men in Israeli military uniforms carrying M16 assault rifles."
Following the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel, the Israeli military drafted more than 5,000 settlers into "regional defense" units in the West Bank, Haaretzreported earlier this year. The Israeli newspaper noted that "alongside this large-scale mobilization, the [Israel Defense Forces] has distributed some 7,000 weapons to the battalions as well as to settlers who were not recruited into the army but received them as civilians whom the army considers eligible to carry military arms."
HRW's investigation found that "armed settlers, with the active participation of army units, repeatedly cut off road access and raided Palestinian communities, detained, assaulted, and tortured residents, chased them out of their homes and off their lands at gunpoint or coerced them to leave with death threats, and blocked them from taking their belongings."
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Despite its grave implications for civil liberties, the bill has drawn relatively little vocal opposition in the Senate. A final vote could come as soon as Thursday.
Titled Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), the legislation passed the Republican-controlled House last week after lawmakers voted down an amendment that would have added a search warrant requirement to Section 702.
The authority allows U.S. agencies to spy on non-citizens located outside of the country, but it has been abused extensively by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency to collect the communications of American lawmakers, activists, journalists, and others without a warrant.
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