LETTER TO S.T.O.P. MEMBERS AND FRIENDS
RE: E. COLI 0157:H7

Dear Friend of S.T.O.P. - Safe Tables Our Priority,

I am writing you to alert you to two critical battles that S.T.O.P. is waging in the war against deadly pathogens in our food supply. First some history.

In 1994, S.T.O.P. won a significant victory when the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) declared E. coli O157:H7 an adulterant in raw ground beef and instituted a limited but effective sampling program to detect contaminated product at randomly chosen meat processors and grocery stores. This past August, FSIS began using a much more sensitive testing method in its sampling program. This more sensitive testing method for E. coli O157 is finding a dramatically higher number of positive samples and reveals a much higher prevalence than previously acknowledged by both government and industry.

Then, in January 1999, S.T.O.P. won another major victory when FSIS announced that it was clarifying the definition of E. coli O157 adulteration to include beef which was going to be ground, thereby closing an enormous food safety loophole identified by S.T.O.P. This public health advance was perceived by industry as a threat to their profits, thereby galvanizing them to attempt to overthrow both the old and new policies. Equally disturbing, FSIS caved into industry pressure and suspended implementation of the new policy. This delay is still in effect today.

Now, FSIS has issued public notification that it is considering major revisions to the E. coli O157 random testing program that will significantly weaken these important food safety protections. This comes at the same time that USDA announced that up to 50% of all U.S. cattle may be infected with deadly E. coli O157:H7.

S.T.O.P. needs your help and financial support to stop this attack on consumer protections that help prevent E. coli O157:H7 from contaminating the food supply and entering into our homes.

S.T.O.P. will not let pressure from industry giants weaken or dismantle the consumer protections for which we have fought so hard. Those of us who have had loved ones die or severely sickened by pathogens in food will not sit quietly back while public health protections are rolled back. We want to stop the illnesses and deaths.

The other major battle involves protecting the new meat and poultry regulation passed in 1996 that required microbial testing for raw meat and poultry for the first time in history. At the time of this writing, a federal judge has ruled that a Texas plant supplying ground beef to schools across the nation can remain open after FSIS tried to close the plant down for repeatedly failing food safety tests.

Supreme Beef Processing Inc. is suing the USDA , contending that the government's Salmonella testing program for process control is unfair and that plants shouldn't be punished for failing. Supreme Beef further contends that bacteria gets killed when cooked and is therefore not a public health threat. Once again, industry is attempting to abdicate all responsibility for the safety of its own product by placing the blame on consumers for their own illnesses or deaths.

This lawsuit, widely supported by industry, threatens to undo the first major meat and poultry safety reforms in over 90 years, reforms considered crucial by government, academia and public health officials to protect consumers.

As you can see all too well, S.T.O.P. faces two enormous challenges in the days and year ahead. To all of you who have been supportive this year and past years, I sincerely thank you. We couldn't have done it without you. For those of you who haven't yet contributed this year, we would certainly appreciate your help now. Your donation to S.T.O.P. is tax deductible and will go a long way in furthering our efforts to protect families from tragedies like that which affected my son, Alex. As always, we are up against the well-funded special interests, but S.T.O.P. has proven that when our members "put a face" on the tragedy of foodborne illness, we can accomplish much. We may never know the lives we have saved through our work, and neither will they, but together we can and will make a difference.

Wishing you and your family a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Sincerely,

Nancy Donley
President of S.T.O.P.
Mother of Alex (1987-1993)

P.S. Please take the time to print out and clip the coupon below, sign it and send it back to S.T.O.P. We will deliver it to the U.S.D.A.

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Please CLIP here, SIGN and SEND to S.T.O.P.:

S.T.O.P. - Safe Tables Our Priority

P.O. Box 4352

Burlington, VT 05406

I support strong food safety safeguards to protect consumers from deadly pathogens. USDA should maintain the FSIS E. coli O157:H7 random sampling program. An effective sampling program should contain the following components:

- Implements and enforces the expanded E. coli O157:H7 adulteration definition announced in January 1999.

- Maintains current government ground beef testing and adds testing of carcasses and raw materials to be used in non-intact products.

- Tests raw non-intact beef and raw materials throughout the production chain ­ from slaughter to retail.

- Conducts intensive follow-up at establishments with positive samples by testing until the plant has 15 consecutive negative samples.

- Tests samples at plants whose own tests have been positive for O157 within the past 6 months.

- Targets testing at plants that have not designed their HACCP plans to address O157 because they have not considered O157 a hazard likely to occur.

- Requires that positive products be fully cooked or destroyed in a safe manner.

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