President Clinton wants to greatly expand the regulatory reach of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the food industry by proposing a wave of new regulations as part of his Food Safety Initiative, according to industry experts.

The initiative took on steam last month from the news media and political frenzy over the detection of E.coli bacteria in red meat, and Congress is poised to give the president $39 million for the initiative.

Industry experts say the expanded regulatory authority is unnecessary:

• The USDA already has power to seek a recall, initiate a product seizure, seek injunction from courts or issue adverse publicity about food products it believes are unsafe.

• Also, the Secretary of Agriculture can withdraw or deny federal inspection of meat and poultry -- without which food processors can't sell their products.

• USDA officials admit the new powers would not have improved the handling of the recent recall of Hudson Foods meat.

• Analysts point out the food industry has long cooperated voluntarily with federal food agencies.

In addition, analysts are concerned that the president's initiative gives too much power to government agencies with little accountability:

• Under the proposal, the Secretary of Agriculture could recall products before giving a company a limited hearing if it wants to protest.

• The Ag Secretary could impose civil monetary penalties -- making him policeman, prosecutor, judge and executioner.

• The government is not required to reimburse companies for monetary damages caused by government mistakes or misjudgment.

Finally, food processors say that if the FDA wants to improve food safety, it should approve the petition for the irradiation (also called cold pasteurization) of red meat that has been pending since 1994. Four decades of research shows the process is safe and effective. It is already used by NASA on its missions and has been endorsed by the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association and the American Dietetic Association.