US senator Kirsten Gillibrand has launched a new bill that would improve the recall process for meat and poultry products, giving the USDA mandatory recall authority over contaminated products.
This comes after a new investigation found that the food safety system has failed to prevent the illnesses caused by contaminants that spread through poultry processors.
Figures released show that nearly three million New Yorkers become sick every year from food they consume.
The new Meat and Poultry Recall Notification Act will provide the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) authority to request a mandatory recall of contaminated meat, poultry and egg products.
Gillibrand said: "Our food safety system is failing to protect Americans, leaving thousands of people hospitalized every year with preventable illnesses.
"Poultry and meat known to be contaminated should never end up in market fridges and freezers or our kitchens. The USDA must have the authority to recall products that test positive for contaminants, and consumers need to know when food has been recalled."
The bill will also encourage retailers to use shopper reward cards that monitor purchases to notify customers who may have purchased recalled products and display notices at point of sale in retail outlets that sold a recalled product or on the store shelf where a product was sold.
Under the proposed bill, the Food Safety and Inspection Service will have the authority to require companies to recall contaminated food and notify all related persons to cease all activities related to the recalled food.
Foodborne illness attorney Bill Marler said: "It is time to treat all bacteria and viruses that sicken U.S. consumers the same.
"They should be banned from both imports and from food produced in the U.S. Banning these bugs from our food supply would save both consumers and the food industry billions of dollars in medical and recall costs."
Image: The new Meat and Poultry Recall Notification Act will provide the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) authority to request a mandatory recall of contaminated meat, poultry and egg products. Photo: courtesy of Piyachok Thawornmat / freedigitalphotos.