November 9, 2002
		Lawmakers Asking Questions About Listeria Outbreak In the wake of the massive Wampler Foods recall, five congressional Democrats have sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman on October 28, asking whether the Agriculture Department could have prevented the illnesses and deaths linked to the Wampler listeria outbreak, and urging Secretary Veneman's agency to toughen listeria testing rules. Representatives Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Henry Waxman of California, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Nita Lowey of New York and Maurice Hinchey of New York said in the letter that they were concerned that the agency missed opportunities to prevent the outbreak, which has sickened 39 and caused seven deaths in the Northeast since early summer. Franconia, Pennsylvania-based Wampler Foods recalled 27 million pounds of ready-to-eat turkey and chicken meat in October after a federal investigation revealed traces of listeria in the plant. The Centers for Disease Control and Safety said that the listeria found in the factory probably caused the outbreak. The group of Representatives said that they were alarmed to have learned that the Wampler plant had conducted its own tests for listeria and found positive results "but failed to disclose this information to USDA inspectors at the time of the testing." The lawmakers demanded that the Agriculture Department provide information about sanitation violations at the plant, as well as copies of e-mails of other communications about food safety that took place between the agency and Wampler Foods since January 1, 2002. They also urged Veneman to release details about the department's plan for strengthening listeria testing rules and asked when the rules would take effect. In addition, they asked the agency to disclose how much of the 1.8 million pounds of turkey bought for the school lunch program and food banks had been returned. A spokesperson for the agency said that officials had not reviewed the letter yet, so they could not comment.