Bush administration announces plan to better monitor food safety.

The U.S. delegation to the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) has recommended returning draft microbiological criteria for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods to Step 2 in the eight-step Codex approval process at the CCFH meeting that took place in early November in New Delhi, India. The United States said it favored a microbiological criterion that would reject lots of ready-to-eat foods supporting the growth of L. monocytogenes if the food contains low levels of the pathogen.

The U.S. said its position "is reflected in the current U.S. requirement for either absence of L. monocytogenes in 25 grams or 50g of ready-to-eat foods, [which has] proven highly effective for foods that support the growth of L. monocytogenes." The draft position noted that proposed Codex criterion is absence in 125g, an increase in stringency of 2.5- to 5.0-fold, adding: "The U.S. will be requesting a more precise estimate of the degree of increased public health protection that would be realized by moving to this more stringent criterion."

The U.S. has also opposed including a second microbiological criterion for foods supporting the growth of L. monocytogenes in which the levels of the pathogen do not exceed 100 colony forming units per gram at point of consumption - provided the manufacturer validates that the product would not exceed that limit at the end of shelf-life. "The U.S. notes the lack of a practical means for actually implementing such a criterion," the draft position said, noting it would have to take into account the degree to which consumers are likely to make a purchase decision based on a date-label.

The U.S. also plans to insist on language "that recognizes the validity of national governments establishing criteria for environmental testing and process control testing where appropriate. These are important tools for verification of control of L. monocytogenes by regulatory agencies."

Asked about feedback on the draft position, U.S. delegate Robert Buchanan said he had received informal comments from European countries, which do not support it. "There's not a true appreciation that the [proposed] new standard is more stringent than ours," he said, promising to educate other countries on the U.S. position.

On other agenda items, the U.S. planned to:

* Oppose an FAO/WHO recommendation to remove Codex restrictions on use of the lactoperoxidase system for preserving raw milk in milk or dairy products intended for international trade.

* Recommend advancing to Step 5 a draft code of hygienic practice for powdered formulas for infants and young children. The U.S. said further discussion is needed on "the role of cautionary labeling in promoting health care professional and consumer awareness of the microbiological hazards associated with powered infant formula and in informing these groups of control strategies." A representative of the Infant Formula Council told the meeting that consumers are apt to interpret the phrase "not sterile" on labels as an indication of contamination.

* Recommend advancing to Step 5/8 for fast track adoption U.S.-led draft guidelines for validation of food safety control measures. This item has been on the CCFH agenda for a decade, but time constraints have limited debate.

* Recommend advancing into the Codex eight-step approval process a discussion paper by New Zealand and Sweden on proposed guidelines for control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in broiler chicken meat

* Recommend advancing to Step 5/8 for fast track adoption an annex to principles and guidelines for the conduct of microbiological risk management - guidance on microbiological risk management metrics. Buchanan said the U.S. is "extremely pleased" with the progress of the U.S.-led work group, which achieved "an amazing degree of consensus on a very complex issue".

* Recommend that CCFH give priority to new work on a code of hygienic practice for fresh fruits and vegetables and - if the agenda can accommodate two new work items - a code of hygienic practice for controlling Vibrio species in fish and shellfish.