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Food Safety Under Consideration as Terrorist Target
Aired March 19, 2003 - 14:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Being on the brink of war is prompting new security concerns from coast to coast. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the number of federal dollars a city gets to prevent terrorism should not be proportional to its size. He says 3 percent of all Americans live in New York, but he says the city needs more than 3 percent of the federal funding.
Concerns New York may once again be targeted by terrorists are certainly obvious in Manhattan. Parts of Operation Atlas, as it is called, call for extra security in places like Times Square, around the network TV studios.
In Chicago, cars arriving at the city's two main airports are now being subjected to spot inspections. Officials say the random checks will be in place as long as the country remains at Threat Level Orange.
And the U.S. Coast Guard will play a key role in protecting not only the coast lines but also lakes that may be near important industrial sites. The agency says not only will it be escorting ferris and cruise ships, it also will be stepping up patrols around chemical plants that may be tempting to terrorists.
Yet another concern, the food supply. As if we needed more concerns. CNN's Jeanne Meserve following that for us. She joins us from Washington. Jeanne, it's, as I say, that's all we need now is to worry about what we eat, but take it away.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: OK, Miles. Tommy Thompson, the secretary of Health and Human Services, says he is more concerned about the safety of the food supply than anything else relating to biological, chemical or radiological weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: What's driving my concern is the overall numbers. And when you look at the fact that we have 56,000 sites to inspect, we have 295 ports of entry into America and a lot of our food is imported from other countries, some from Middle Eastern countries. You know, there is plenty of potentials and opportunities for mischief to take place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Thompson says he is particularly concerned about contamination of liquid foods like bolted water, milk, soft drinks and baby food. Officials say there is no intelligence indicating that terrorists have developed the ability to target the food supply. But its vulnerability has been documented in several recent reports.
And as part of Operation Liberty Shield which was rolled out this week when the threat level went up to Orange, some specific additional security steps are being recommended like enhanced inspection of imported food, more monitoring of feed lots and stockyards and more security at food processing facilities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RHONA APPLEBAUM, NATL. FOOD PROCESSORS ASSN.: Know who your supplier is. Confirm that they have a security procedure in place. Do periodic checks in terms of, you know, not only the quality but the safety of those ingredients. Once the products comes inside, you know, make sure that you have the necessary security procedures in place as well as the safety procedures. One of the...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Though the Department of Health and Human Services is proud to point out that has tripled its number of food inspectors and has some new high-tech test kits to detect agents like botulinum, ricin, cyanide and chlorine, a dozen federal agencies are in charge of keeping the food supplies safe. It's a system the General Accounting Office has called inefficient, inconsistent and ineffective -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: So what's a consumer to do then, Jeanne?
MESERVE: Check your food carefully. When you get something, make sure it hasn't been tampered with. If it has been, take it right back, don't eat it.
And if you get sick from something you've eaten, save any remnants so that can be tested. There are, of course, cases of food poisoning every year in this country. No cause to be unduly alarmed at this particular point in time, as I mentioned. No specific intelligence that terrorists at this point are targeting the food supply -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Jeanne Meserve, Washington, thank you very much. Appreciate that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 19, 2003 - 14:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Being on the brink of war is prompting new security concerns from coast to coast. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the number of federal dollars a city gets to prevent terrorism should not be proportional to its size. He says 3 percent of all Americans live in New York, but he says the city needs more than 3 percent of the federal funding.
Concerns New York may once again be targeted by terrorists are certainly obvious in Manhattan. Parts of Operation Atlas, as it is called, call for extra security in places like Times Square, around the network TV studios.
In Chicago, cars arriving at the city's two main airports are now being subjected to spot inspections. Officials say the random checks will be in place as long as the country remains at Threat Level Orange.
And the U.S. Coast Guard will play a key role in protecting not only the coast lines but also lakes that may be near important industrial sites. The agency says not only will it be escorting ferris and cruise ships, it also will be stepping up patrols around chemical plants that may be tempting to terrorists.
Yet another concern, the food supply. As if we needed more concerns. CNN's Jeanne Meserve following that for us. She joins us from Washington. Jeanne, it's, as I say, that's all we need now is to worry about what we eat, but take it away.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: OK, Miles. Tommy Thompson, the secretary of Health and Human Services, says he is more concerned about the safety of the food supply than anything else relating to biological, chemical or radiological weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: What's driving my concern is the overall numbers. And when you look at the fact that we have 56,000 sites to inspect, we have 295 ports of entry into America and a lot of our food is imported from other countries, some from Middle Eastern countries. You know, there is plenty of potentials and opportunities for mischief to take place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Thompson says he is particularly concerned about contamination of liquid foods like bolted water, milk, soft drinks and baby food. Officials say there is no intelligence indicating that terrorists have developed the ability to target the food supply. But its vulnerability has been documented in several recent reports.
And as part of Operation Liberty Shield which was rolled out this week when the threat level went up to Orange, some specific additional security steps are being recommended like enhanced inspection of imported food, more monitoring of feed lots and stockyards and more security at food processing facilities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RHONA APPLEBAUM, NATL. FOOD PROCESSORS ASSN.: Know who your supplier is. Confirm that they have a security procedure in place. Do periodic checks in terms of, you know, not only the quality but the safety of those ingredients. Once the products comes inside, you know, make sure that you have the necessary security procedures in place as well as the safety procedures. One of the...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Though the Department of Health and Human Services is proud to point out that has tripled its number of food inspectors and has some new high-tech test kits to detect agents like botulinum, ricin, cyanide and chlorine, a dozen federal agencies are in charge of keeping the food supplies safe. It's a system the General Accounting Office has called inefficient, inconsistent and ineffective -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: So what's a consumer to do then, Jeanne?
MESERVE: Check your food carefully. When you get something, make sure it hasn't been tampered with. If it has been, take it right back, don't eat it.
And if you get sick from something you've eaten, save any remnants so that can be tested. There are, of course, cases of food poisoning every year in this country. No cause to be unduly alarmed at this particular point in time, as I mentioned. No specific intelligence that terrorists at this point are targeting the food supply -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Jeanne Meserve, Washington, thank you very much. Appreciate that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
