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Policy
and
Outreach
S.T.O.P.
is Citizen Supported.
Your help is critical to continue the fight against
foodborne disease.
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Public Comments
Good
afternoon, my name is Don Knowles. I’m here for a different
reason than probably all of you. I am here to advocate the development
of an animal identification system that includes the purpose
of preventing foodborne illness in people. I represent an organization
called S. T. O. P. - Safe Tables Our Priority -
which was formed in the aftermath of the 1993 E. coli O157:H7
outbreak in the Northwest associated with Jack-in-the-Box hamburgers.
S.T.O.P. has become a key player in facilitating the first meat
and poultry inspection reforms in over 90 years; reforms that
have included microbial testing for animal fecal contamination.
I am also here to represent consumers and victims of foodborne
illness. My son, Tyler, who is now 18 is such a victim. Eleven
years ago this month, Tyler’s young, healthy body was
attacked by a vicious pathogen contained in a ground beef patty.
The E. coli bacterial illness ultimately evolved into a life-threatening
condition called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. His kidneys stopped
working completely resulting in a month’s stay in the
Denver Children’s Hospital during which he received several
blood transfusions and many kidney dialysis treatments. Tyler
survived; others have not been so fortunate. Our family lived
through a horror I hope none of you ever have to experience.
It dramatically changed our lives.Foodborne
illness is a serious health problem in our country. Over 76
million cases of foodborne illness occur in this country every
year, sending over 300,000 Americans to the hospital, and causing
over 5000 deaths. To put that in perspective, that is more deaths
each year than the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Literally millions
annually suffer long-term illnesses as a result. Many of these
illnesses come directly from meat products contaminated with
pathogens at the time consumers purchase them at the grocery
store.
I feel that an animal identification system should be implemented
with not only the goal of preventing illness in animals, which
is well and good, but also have the authority to trace animals
that arrive at the slaughterhouse loaded with human pathogens.
A 2003 report by a National Academy of Sciences committee concluded
that the level of contamination on and in animals coming to
slaughter is tied to contamination levels in meat. The committee
urged government to monitor contamination of incoming animals
and take steps to mitigate the problem. The committee also noted
that other countries have achieved dramatic declines in certain
pathogens by using microbial monitoring to drive farm-based
control efforts.
An animal identification system must be mandatory, uniform,
and administered by the federal government. It must also include
enforcement provisions to penalize those who choose not to abide
by the rules. If the system is not mandatory, those who choose
not to participate will not only continue to contribute to animal
and human health problems, but will have an economic advantage
over those who pony up the funds to do it right. Uniformity
with federal administration is also key to ensuring that all
producers play under the same rules and that no one gains an
economic advantage while reducing human health protection.
I urge you to develop an animal tracking system that includes
the provisions to trace back to the farm animals that come to
slaughter with high levels of human pathogens. To implement
anything else will be a shameful loss of a unique opportunity
to exponentially reduce foodborne disease - and a kick in the
teeth for the thousands of victims of E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter
and other devastating meat-borne diseases who are forced to
watch as government pours millions of dollars building a bridge
that reaches only halfway across the chasm of foodborne disease.
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Safe
Tables Our Priority
P.O. Box 4352
Burlington, VT 05406
Media
& Business (802) 863-0555
Victims & Victims' Families (800) 350-S.T.O.P.
Send e-mail to:
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