Fri, Mar 28, 2008 (2:06 a.m.)

In the wake of the nation’s largest-ever beef recall, the Agriculture Department is considering a measure that calls for not telling the public the names of retailers that have received potentially tainted meat unless the meat poses a serious health risk.

Current USDA rules publicize only recalls and do not disclose the names of food retailers that might have received tainted meat or produce. Thus American consumers were not notified whether their hometown markets obtained beef from the Chino, Calif., slaughterhouse that was including crippled cows in the meat it processed and sold, the Associated Press reports.

The USDA has been reworking its disclosure rules for about two years, but this most recent recall which involved 143 million pounds of beef prompted the agency to move forward on finishing the rule.

The first version of the new rule would have disclosed the names of food retailers in all recalls. The newer draft calls for disclosing stores’ names only in the case of “Class I” recalls, which pose the most significant health hazard, the AP reports.

February’s California beef recall was defined as a “Class II,” because the Agriculture Department said it posed minimal health risks to consumers. No reports of illnesses from the recalled beef have been documented.

Not surprisingly, food industry officials favor the newer draft of the proposed rule, the AP reports. But consumer advocates and congressional Democrats say that isn’t fair, and that Americans should be told which retailers have received foods that are under any kind of recall.

Food industry officials who fear the financial outcome of full disclosure should apply pressure to the companies that process and manufacture food to ensure that it is safe, rather than calling on government to hide the truth.

The U.S. food supply is one of the safest, if not the safest, in the world. To help keep it that way, we believe American consumers should be fully informed about all food recalls including the names of retailers to which potentially tainted products have been shipped.