The following are straight sales branches under State inspection with no processing or manufacturing but do have some fabricating of beef: Hot Springs, Ark. New London, Conn. Jacksonville, Fla. Binghamton, N.Y. High Point, N.C. Fall River, Mass. Boston, Mass. Concord, N.H. Asbury Park, N.J. Elizabeth, N.J. Trenton, N.J. Albany, N.Y. Raleigh, N.C. Lewiston, Maine DuBois, Pa. Harrisburg, Pa. Uniontown, Pa. Providence, R.I. Burlington, Vt. Danville, Va. Roanoke, Va. Huntington, W. Va. We have six federally inspected hotel supply houses with no processing, but fabricate fresh meat: Jepsen Hotel Supply Co., Washington, D.C. Davidson Meat Co., Los Angeles, Calif. Williams Meat Co., Kansas City, Kans. Phillips Meat Co., Memphis, Tenn. We also have six hotel supply houses fabricating fresh meat, no processing, under State inspection: Gotham Hotel Supply Co., New York, N.Y. Davidson Meat Co., San Francisco, Calif. WILSON & Co., INC. R. V. EDWARDS Mr. R. K. SOMERS, CHICAGO, ILL., November 10, 1967. Deputy Administrator, Consumer Protection, Consumer and Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.: We appreciate your request re meat inspection hearing. Following message sent to Senate Agriculture Committee today: "Senator ALLEN JOSEPH ELLENDER, "Chairman, Senate Agriculture Committee, "The Capitol, Washington, D.C.: "In response to the Senate Agriculture Committee request via the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Armour & Co. is pleased to provide the following information. All slaughtering plants owned by Armour & Co. are federally inspected. Ninety-five percent of all Armour processed meat products are federally inspected. Armour has 14 units which process limited amounts of meat products under State laws for intrastate commerce to meet the supplemental needs of customers in these States. All meats used at these units have been federally inspected. Several of these units are under mandatory State inspection. "The 14 units are located at Bluefield, W. Va., Charleston, W. Va., Garland, Tex., Jacksonville, Fla., Johnstown, Pa., New Orleans, La., Portland, Maine, Providence, R.I., Roanoke, Va., San Antonio, Tex., Utica, N.Y., Waterbury, Conn., Wilkes Barre, Pa., West Palm Beach, Fla. Armour would like to add that it fully supports the Purcell bill as passed by the House together with the amendment proposed by Senator Montoya. "We will be grateful if this may be made a part of the record of the current hearings on the meat inspection bill. "CLIFTON B. Cox, "Armour Food Group Vice President." WATERLOO, Iowa, November 13, 1967. Dr. ROBERT K. SOMERS, Deputy Administrator, Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Consumer and Marketing Service, Washington, D.C.: All Rath Packing establishments are federally inspected except Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which operates under State meat inspection but is being closed within the month. Des Moines, Iowa, which breaks beef for local consumption and a local food service operated here in Waterloo for the benefit of local merchants and restaurants which does beef fabricating for local consumption. Raw materials provided by federally inspected plants only are used at both Waterloo and Des Moines plants. R. K. SOMERS, THE RATH PACKING CO., MEMPHIS, TENN., November 9, 1967. Deputy Administrator, Consumer Protection, Consumer and Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.: Re your wire: All our establishments operate under Federal meat inspection USDA Nat Buring Packing Co. of Arkansas, Inc., Wilson, Ark. SAM KORNBERG. PHOENIX, ARIZ., November 10, 1967. Dr. ROBERT SOMERS, Cudahy Co. has no slaughtering facilities that are intrastate, all are federally inspected. We have five small processing facilities that operate intrastate in Alexandria and New Orleans, La., Atlanta, Ga., Hartford, Conn., and Portland, Maine. The processed volume done in these intrastate nonfederally inspected plants was about 12 percent of the total meat division volume. In addition the company operates several small intrastate distribution points in other areas which do no processing. If you desire further information feel free to contact us. HOWARD G. FISHER, Vice President, Meat Division, Cudahy Co. R. K. SOMERS, MADISON, Wis., November 13, 1967. Deputy Administrator, Consumer Protection, Consumer and Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Reference to your wire November 9. All of Oscar Mayer & Co. slaughtering and processing operations are conducted under Federal meat inspection regulations. The company has no facilities which operate only under State or local inspection. OSCAR MAYER & Co., R. K. SOMERS, DAKOTA CITY, NEBR., November 14, 1967. Deputy Administrator, Consumer Protection, Consumer and Marketing Service, Dr. R. K. SOMERS, IOWA BEEF PACKERS, INC. DETROIT, MICH., November 10, 1967. Deputy Administrator, Consumer Protection, Consumer and Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. DEAR DR. SOMERS: This confirms information given to your office by telephone Thursday afternoon, November 9, 1967, in reply to your teletype request. All Hygrade Food Products Corporation plants that slaughter livestock, or slaughter and process meats operate under Federal Meat Inspection. Hygrade Food Products Corporation meat processing plants that do not operate under Federal Meat Inspection are as follows: Buffalo, New York-This plant operates under inspection provided by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets as establishment No. 374. Syracuse, New York-This plant operates under inspection provided by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets as establishment No. 347. Newark, New Jersey-This plant operates under the supervision of the Newark Department of Health as establishment No. 55. Detroit, Michigan (3 plants)-3330 Heidelberg: This plant operates under Michigan State Inspection Registration No. 48; 3257 Michigan Avenue: This plant operates under Michigan State Inspection Registration No. 4; 2888 Riopelle Street: This plant operates under Michigan State Inspection Registration No. 600. The above three plants, together with our federally inspected plant in Detroit (establishment 12M) are being consolidated into a new federally inspected plant now under construction at Livonia, Michigan. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-This plant operates primarily as a distribution point for product produced at our Philadelphia Plant formerly under establishment No. 991, now under establishment No. 12PA. In the past, it has been occasionally used to smoke out sweet pickled hams received from our Philadelphia Plant. Miami, Florida-This plant operates under the Florida State Meat Inspection as establishment No. 91. Very truly yours, WELLS E. HUNT, Vice President, Hygrade Food Products Corp. CHICAGO, ILL., November 13, 1967. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, CONSUMER PROTECTION AND MARKETING SERVICE, (Attention Mr. R. K. Somers, Deputy Administrator). DEAR MR. SOMERS: Your TelTex wire of November 10th asks for a list of interstate meat plants we operate without Federal inspection. Of course it is illegal to operate interstate without Federal inspection, so we are presuming you must mean intrastate meat plants. To give you all the information we feel you could possibly want we are listing all plants of our Company and of our wholly owned subsidiaries: Federally Inspected: Mickelberry's Food Products Co., Chicago 9, Illinois, Mickelberry's Food Products Co., Detroit, Michigan, Mickelberry's Food Products Co., Laclede Packing Co. Division, St. Louis, Missouri, H. F. Busch Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, Fancy Frozen Foods, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. State Inspected: 1. Mickelberry's Food Products Co., Bartlow Packing Co. Division, Rushville, Illinois, Falls City Meat Co., Falls City, Nebraska, Emerson Meat Co., Houston, Texas. We trust that this will meet your needs. Yours very truly, R. R. LAIDLEY, President, Mickelberry's Food Products Co. Senator MONDALE. The Swift & Co., which is the largest company in the world, has in fact refused to tell Congressman Foley, who asked for this information a few days ago and I would like to submit it for the record there was an article which set forth the findings of the Federal meat inspection at the Swift subsidiaries, showing practices that were completely below the standards that apply in their federally inspected plants. Now, the reason I ask for the inclusion of that article is that it also includes the answer of the Swift Co. They say it is better now, and so on, and I think this charge and the answer ought to be placed together for our consideration, because what I think has happened under this arbitrary, mechanical intrastate-interstate distinction, we give a competitive advantage to the intrastate plan that is irresistible and in the larger States with the larger population, the break they get from the cheaper and sanitation practices, buying diseased and unwholesomemeat and the additives of water and the rest, that they can put it in and it is so attractive to them that it is irresistible and it is not just small plants, it is huge plants that can get away with it in States of large populations. I have this that I would like to put in the record, if I might, Mr. Chairman. Senator ELLENDER. Without objection. Senator MONDALE. An atricle appearing in the Des Moines Register of November 8, 1967. (The article above referred to, follows:) [From the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, Nov. 8, 1967] CITE POOR CONDITIONS IN SWIFT PLANTS-SIX UNSANITARY FACILITIES NAMED IN 1962-FAULTS ELIMINATED, FIRM SAYS-MEAT INDUSTRY SHOWS SIGNS OF WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT A STRONGER MEAT-INSPECTION BILL (By Nick Kotz) WASHINGTON, D.C.-Agriculture Department investigators have reported finding improper conditions in at least six plants operated by Swift & Co., the nation's largest meat packing firm. None operated under federal inspection. The reports were contained in 1962 and 1967 nationwide surveys made to determine conditions in some of the 14,000 meat packing plants that are not under federal inspection. Swift, which reportedly handles 4 billion pounds of meat annually, operates 61 federally inspected plants and an undetermined number of intrastate plants not subject to federal inspection. SWIFT SILENT Swift officials have declined to tell either The Register or Representatives Neal Smith (Dem., Ia.) and Thomas Foley (Dem., Wash.) how many of its plants are exempt from federal inspection because they do not sell across state lines. The Agriculture Department also declines to reveal this information. Swift officials have said only that 98 per cent of the firm's slaughtering and 90 per cent of its processing are under federal inspection. The department's 1962 and 1967 reports are being cited by congressmen pushing for expanded federal meat inspection or improved state inspection. In the department's 1962 survey, five of Swift's intrastate plants were cited for improper conditions, mainly relating to sanitation. They were located in San Antonio, Tex.; New Orleans, La.; Richmond, Va.; Orlando, Fla., and Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville plant has since been closed. A Swift & Co. spokesman declined to comment Tuesday on whether the inspectors had accurately described conditions existing in the plants at the time of the inspections. He also declined to reveal the number of locations of Swift plants not under federal inspection. The Swift spokesman, informed of the plants to be referred to in this story, issued the following statement: "Swift and Co. thinks it both unfair and less than factual to base a news story and/or a plea for current legislation on conditions alleged to have existed five years ago in its meat packing units, when such conditions no longer exist. "According to this story, unsatisfactory conditions were reported in 1962 in five Swift and Co. units, yet every one of these units has been greatly modified in the last five to eight years through the company's continuing program of upgrading facilities and installation of new and efficient equipment. "For example, completely new sales units were built in both Jacksonville and Orlando, Fla. Furthermore, no meat processing is done in the Richmond, Va., unit. "The only current government inspection report referred to in the story is the Swift Phoenix sales units, which was just built and equipped in 1966. While the inspector might have been critical of a few housekeeping matters, this facillity is modern in all respects." 1967 SURVEY The Agriculture Department did not release to the press or to Congress names of the plants cited in the 1967 survey. However, informed sources have identified one plant in Phoenix, Ariz., as being operated by Swift. W. F. Bonilla, the Agriculture Department investigator who made the inspection, wrote of the Swift plant, in a July 31, 1967, report: "This plant is a wholesale meat jobber and conducts smoking of hams. It is under the state of Arizona meat inspection system. The building is new, but facilities are inadequate. Working areas are crowded. "General sanitation is poor throughout. Smokehouse area is cluttered with storage of boxes, paper, bags, etc. Over-all sanitation could be greatly improved. No sterilizers in the working areas. Wooden tables are in use. Equipment is inadequate (ly) sanitized." The Agriculture Department did not begin to make public the 1962 reports until last summer. RICHMOND PLANT In a September, 1962, report, the USDA inspectors reported on a Swift plant in Richmond, Va., which cuts and grinds meat, smokes cured pork parts and manufactures sausage. (The plant now only distributes meat.) The report stated, in part: 66 ". . . The meat grinder bearings had much encrusted putrid material which would readily result in bacterial contamination of the ground meat. Sausage was hung on unclean aluminum smoke sticks and no attempt was made to clean the sausage mixer. 66 Some beef cuts hanging in the cooler showed evidence of soilage while in transit and had not been reconditioned by removing soiled portions. Other insanitary conditions noted were ceilings with leaks dripping on exposed meat causing serious contamination. 66 "... Some cockroaches were observed in the curing cellar where exposed meat is handled and stored." In a September, 1962, report on a Swift plant in New Orleans, La., the federal inspector noted "there is no control over trichina" and no control in the use of such "restricted items" such as nitrite and aureomicyn. RUSTY BARRELS The inspector also noted "rusty barrels" used to hold meat products and meat boning boards that "were old and caked with fats and meat juices, cracks and deep knife marks." In a September, 1962, report on the Swift plant at Orlando, Fla., the inspector noted that a loading dock door was covered with green mold, even though the plant was newly constructed. He also described the freezer as being "overcrowded, without proper aisles." |