oughly and not pass any bill that is going to be injurious to the processors or to the farmers or to anybody, including the consumers.

We want legitimate legislation on that, and we don't want to hasten anything through and I am going to have a full and complete hearing of this.

Mr. LANDRUM. I know you will. Your reputation as a Senator indicates that you will, and I am glad that you are going into this, and I hope that we can finally wind up with a satisfactory program under our Department of Agriculture.

Senator MURRAY. Thank you.

The next witness is Dr. Dan Schlosser.

STATEMENT OF DAN. SCHLOSSER, CHAIRMAN, MEAT AND POULTRY COMMITTEE, THE ASSOCIATION OF FOOD AND DRUG OFFICIALS OF THE UNITED STATES

Dr. SCHLOSSER. My name is Daniel B. Schlosser, chairman of the meat and poultry committee, the Association of Food and Drug Officials of the United States.

Senator MURRAY. Thank you. Do you have a statement? may read your statement.

You

Dr. SCHLOSSER. I wish to point out here that I am also chief of the meat and poultry section of the State Board of Health in Indiana.

The committee on meat and poultry inspection has given consideration to the consumer protection as set forth in several bills which have been introduced in Congress for inspection of poultry for whole

someness.

These bills fall into two categories exemplified by the Murray bill and the Aiken bill.

The committee has determined that the provisions of the Aiken bill and companion bills in the House are not acceptable because the authority granted to the Secretary of Agriculture would remove poultry and poultry products from the scope of the jurisdiction of the Federal Food and Drug Administration and from State and local authorities, thereby creating a defect in consumer protection.

The Murray bill and companion bills in the House are acceptable for the following reasons:

1. They are primarily concerned with consumer protection.

2. They would coincide with the presently organized Food and Drug agencies on the Federal, State, and local levels.

As a result of the above, the committee recommends that the association support the enactment of the general provisions of the Murray bill.

The next problem facing the committee was what agency of the Federal Government could most effectively carry out the provisions of the law.

The committee recommends that the authority and the responsibility for the enforcement of the provisions of the Murray bill be placed in Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. If, in its wisdom, the Congress of the United States finds that this is not a feasible plan, the committee recommends that the authority and responsibility be placed in the agency that is empowered to enforce the provisions of the Meat Inspection Act of 1906

and its amendments. That is the Meat Inspection Branch, Agricultural Research Agency, United States Department of Agriculture. As a result of the committee's recommendation, we wish to present the following resolutions:

These resolutions were presented to the full organization and were passed. This is the resolution:

Whereas there are now under consideration in the Congress of the United States a number of bills which would make mandatory the continuous inspection. for wholesomeness of poultry and poultry food products; Therefore, be it

Resolved, That this association be on record as favoring the broad principle of mandatory inspection and in support of the following principles for guidance of the Congress in formulating this legislation:

1. That the general approach of the Murray bill be followed, rather than the approach represented by the Aiken bill.

2. That the inspection service be placed in a governmental agency having a traditionally consumer protective purpose, namely, the Food and Drug Administration or the Meat Inspection Branch of the United States Department of Agriculture.

3. That any exemption from compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act be limited to the extent of applicability of the continuous inspection law as enacted; and that there be no exemption from compliance with applicable State and municipal food laws.

The other resolution is as follows:

Whereas diseased poultry can be eliminated during slaughter and processing operations only by adequate ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection procedures; and

Whereas if these procedures are not followed during slaughter, dressing, and evisceration, the evidence of disease will be largely removed by the eviscerating process and making its subsequent detection by control officials impossible, and thereby depriving the consumer of adequate protection; and

Whereas the holding or shipment of uneviscerated dressed poultry to facilitate later evaluation for disease is repugnant and inconsistent with modern-day sanitation concepts: Therefore, be it

Resolved, That this association go on record as favoring legislation making mandatory such ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection as is necessary to insure elimination of diseased poultry moving in interstate commerce and furtther requiring the immediate evisceration after slaughter of all such poultry and that the secretary forward this resolution to the appropriate congressional committee. Senator MURRAY. Thank you, Doctor. Are there any questions? Senator MCNAMARA. I have no questions.

Mr. REIDY. Dr. Schlosser, could you tell us what the composition is of the Association of Food and Drug officials of the United States? Dr. SCHLOSSER. The Association of Food and Drug Officials are food and dairy enforcement people in the 48 States and Canada, which includes membership in the Food and Drug Administration, the Meat Inspection Branch, the United States Public Health Service, and the three governmental agencies which are members of the association. Mr. REIDY. Do any of your members work for or are they identified with the State agricultural services?

Dr. SCHLOSSER. Yes, sir. I am not going to say exactly how many, but I presume that about two-thirds of our members work under the departments of agriculture in their States.

Mr. REIDY. And these men who work for the departments of agriculture are in favor of S. 3176 calling for compulsory inspection of poultry by the Food and Drug Administration?

Dr. SCHLOSSER. In essence, yes. If you will notice in the first resolution, we ask that the inspection service be placed in a governmental agency having a traditionally consumer-protective purpose, namely,

the Food and Drug Administration, or the Meat Inspection Branch of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Mr. REIDY. You have heard the Congressman testify a little while ago. He raised a question as to the desirability of or the necessity for ante mortem inspections. Would you have anything further to say on that?

Dr. SCHLOSSER. We feel that ante mortem inspection would eliminate emaciated birds and birds that have a sinus infection.

Mr. REIDY. And you believe that that is sufficiently serious as to justify the expense or necessary personnel that might be involved?

Dr. SCHLOSSER. We feel that the ratio of birds with the condition which should be condemned on ante mortem inspection is high enough that we should have an adequate ante mortem inspection. We do not feel that it would be necessary for a veterinarian to do the ante mortem inspection, but a person trained in poultry pathology.

Mr. REIDY. And working under the supervision of a veterinarian. Dr. SCHLOSSER. That is right.

Mr. REIDY. That is all.

Senator MURRAY. Thank you, Doctor.

The next witness is Dr. Kingman. Dr. Kingman, you may give your name and the name of the organization you represent.

STATEMENT OF HARRY E. KINGMAN, JR., ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

Dr. KINGMAN. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am Harry E. Kingman, Jr., a doctor of veterinary medicine. I am appearing on behalf of the American Veterinary Medical Association, of which I am assistant executive secretary. The AVMA, representing the profession of veterinary medicine in the United States, appreciates being afforded the opportunity to have a representative appear before this committee concerning S. 3176, 84th Congress.

The American Veterinary Medical Association favors and endorses the general provisions of the proposed legislation which would prohibit the movement in interstate or foreign commerce of unsound, unhealthful, diseased, unwholesome, or adulterated poultry or poultry products.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Federal meat-inspection service. It has been repeatedly stated and is undoubtedly a fact that the United States has the finest and safest meat supply in the world.

This service, since its inception, has been administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. This Department, through its Bureau of Animal Industry, in the early years, and more recently through the Meat Inspection Branch of the Agricultural Research Service, has developed a program that is now used in this country and throughout the world as the foundation for food-inspection systems.

Those who have had an opportunity to closely observe the work of the Federal Meat Inspection Service are immediately impressed with the close adherence to the basic criteria necessary for an adequately safeguarded inspection system.

These are:

1. The inspectors must be qualified and competent. In the case of products of animal origin, there must be sufficient number of pro

fessional veterinary workers available to assure scientifically accurate disposition of products.

2. The inspectors and supervisory personnel must have tenure of office so long as they competently perform their work.

3. The service must be responsible to the consumer.

4. The system should be financed by public funds.

At the time of the establishment of the Federal Meat Inspection Service, poultry meat was marketed largely in the live state. At that time there were no large poultry-slaughtering operations where the viscera were removed from the carcasses and no provision for poultry inspection was made.

Conditions today are quite different. The need for an inspection program for poultry products became apparent many years ago and the American Veterinary Medical Association, through its members and committees, has in many ways called attention to this problem and made recommendations designed to correct some of the deficiencies.

A complete documentation of AVMA activities in this area would be voluminous and of little value to the committee. We would, however, like to submit for the committee's consideration two documents included as appendixes A and B to this statement.

The first is an Outline for the Preparation of Governing Legislation and a Proposed Code for the Inspection of Human Food, prepared by the AVMA committee on food and milk hygiene and adopted by the association on August 13, 1955.

The AVMA committee on food and milk hygiene, in their report, emphasized the value of a coordinated food-control program under veterinary planning and direction.

The second is a copy of a resolution adopted by the AVMA house of representatives, August 21, 1954, urging that the Poultry Inspection Service becombined with the Federal Meat Inspection Service.

The legislation proposed in S. 3176, in its present form, creates a Poultry Inspection Service as a division of the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. This service would not have at its immediate command the experience, the prestige, the personnel, or the know-how presently available through the United States Department of Agriculture..

In its enforcement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other laws, the Food and Drug Administration reports probable violations to the Department of Justice for prosecution, seizure, or injunction action in the Federal courts.

These procedures have usually been followed even with respect to minor or technical violations. Suspected violations generally involve formal hearing procedures with overtones of potential prosecution action. The experience of this Department has been to administer a program on a punitive rather than a preventive basis.

The Federal Meat Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture for 50 years has been administered on the philosophy of preventing those acts that could result in violation. We feel that this basic difference in experience is an important consideration.

Likewise, the establishment of a separate inspection service is not consistent with the recommendation of the AVMA committee on food and mild hygiene urging the organization of a coordinated food-control program under veterinary planning and direction. We

feel this is of primary importance and would urge that the recommendation providing for the establishment of a Poultry Inspection Service within the Federal Meat Inspection Service be given consideration by your committee.

In conclusion, gentlemen, the enactment of legislation providing for adequate inspection of poultry and poultry products is of vital concern to the entire veterinary profession.

The American Veterinary Medical Association respectfully requests and recommends that consideration be given to amendments which would authorize and direct the Meat Inspection Branch, United States Department of Agriculture to extend the benefits of meat inspection to include poultry and poultry products.

I wish to thank you in behalf of the American Veterinary Medical Association for having had this opportunity to be heard.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to enlarge very briefly on this statement since references have been made in today's testimony, and testimony of yesterday with regard to S. 3588.

The position of our association is somewhat similar with regard to 3588 as it is to 3176. We feel that many provisions of S. 3588 fail to meet the standards and criteria set up both by our committee on food and milk hygiene and by the resolution adopted by our house of representatives. That leaves our association in the position of urging that neither of the bills be enacted as presently written. We don't like to be in the position of being against everything.

Senator MURRAY. We usually find that is true in every case. seldom find a bill that cannot be improved in some respect.

We

Dr. KINGMAN. Our association, anticipating possibly a question of what we feel should be the type of legislation which we could support, has drafted and, if I am not presumptuous, I would present, an amendment that we feel would meet the situation.

Senator MURRAY. We are very glad to have it.

Dr. KINGMAN. This is a bill to amend the Meat Inspection Act, as amended, so as to prohibit the movement in interstate or foreign commerce of unsound, unhealthful, diseased, unwholesome, or adulterated poultry or poultry products:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Meat Inspection Act is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:

SEC. 97. Effective not later than two years from date of approval of this amendment, no person, firm or corporation, or officer, agent, or employee thereof shall transport or offer for transportation and no carrier of interstate or foreign commerce shall transport or receive for transportation from one State or Territory or the District of Columbia to any other State or Territory or the District of Columbia or to any place under the jurisdiction of the United States or to any foreign country any poultry and/or poultry products unless such poultry and/ or poultry products are inspected and identified as such in the manner provided in the said Act, as amended, provided that the provisions of this amendment will be administered by the Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture: Provided further, That the exemption provisions in the said Act with respect to a farmer, a retail butcher, and a retail dealer so far as concerns the specified amounts of poultry and/or poultry products, shall be prescribed by such rules and regulations as may be issued by the Secretary of Agriculture. All the penalties, terms and provisions in said Act, as amended, are hereby applicable to poultry and/or poultry products and the establishments and other places where such poultry are slaughtered and/or poultry products thereof are prepared or packed for the interstate or foreign commerce and to all persons, firms, corporations and officers, agents and employees thereof who