29 



Mr. Morgan. And we just really are not at the point where we 

 have endorsed since 1985 a mandatory seafood inspection program. 

 We don't care who does it. 



We feel like our program is good enough so that we can eat food 

 raw. Not anybody in an inspection field of food in this country can 

 make that claim. So that is the first thing. 



The second is the shippers list. The bill gives power to FDA to 

 target a single company, and I don't see what that has to do with 

 anything other than politics of the game, to be able to come in and 

 target one company, I mean even companies in my field could try 

 to target one company for one reason or another, for FDA to come 

 in and use that 



Mrs. Unsoeld. That is something we can probably work on with 

 you. But my time is expired again unfortunately. 



Mr. Manton. I don't think there are any more requests for time, 

 so if you want to continue and exhaust your questions, please do. 



Mrs. Unsoeld. Mr. Morgan, wouldn't the alternative — I mean, if 

 you have got one producer and you have got some kind of contami- 

 nated water or some problem and you say it is — that we are focus- 

 ing on only that one company, isn't the alternative to close down 

 an entire State? 



Mr. Morgan. Well, I think that the industry in that particular 

 State has a much better chance in effecting legislature with a large 

 group rather than one company, if there is a problem in that State. 



Whereas if a company had a problem with the State regulation, 

 if that State regulation was not up to par with another State, then 

 one company would not be able to do anything. They wouldn't have 

 enough power to do anj^thing. 



So I think the system as it is now, and the gentleman from Mis- 

 sissippi I think may be able to help me on this a little bit because 

 it has happened in Mississippi, if you had one industry out there, 

 one industry member who was targeted by that State agency for a 

 problem, it wasn't even his fault, then he would be closed down im- 

 niediately and his industry would not come to the legislator to help 

 him out because it is a competitor. 



Mrs. Unsoeld. I think we can work on some protections, but, Mr. 

 Morgan, would you support a mandatory seafood inspection of 

 some kind? 



Mr. Morgan. Oh, yes. We have since 1985 since it was first 

 deemed that we had a major problem. We still don't feel like we do, 

 but we feel confident that we can work with any mandatory inspec- 

 tion program, particularly an HACCP based one, and whether it is 

 FDA 



Mrs. Unsoeld. Would you not be anxious to ensure that foreign 

 imports are going to meet similar standards to what you would be 

 required to meet so that consumers who, when they put a shellfish 

 on their plate and eat it, don't know whether it is coming as an 

 import or is domestically grown, and how easily, if there were a 

 problem, a Jack In The Box type situation, wouldn't you want to 

 have to have the foreign countries behave as would our industry? 



Mr. Morgan. Yes. We are in 100 percent agreement with that 

 phase of the bill. We have always felt like that the foreign compa- 

 nies know months ahead of time when FDA is coming. All they 



71-898 0-93 



