Washington - The U.S. Agriculture Department said it wants to reassign some meat and poultry inspectors out of slaughter plants to monitor food safety in restaurants, grocery stores and other places.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service said it proposed the redeployment of some inspectors as part of the agency's test project to determine how much hands-on examination of carcasses is needed with healthy, young animals at slaughter plants.
The FSIS asked for suggestions and reaction from the meat industry, food safety groups and others by Feb 24.
During the past year, the National Academy of Sciences and the General Accounting Office have separately recommended that FSIS redeploy some of its inspectors away from the usual “poke and sniff” system at slaughter plants to monitor food safety in better ways to protect consumers.
Under two federal laws -- the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act -- the FSIS has authority over production, sale, transportation, and storage of meat and poultry food products.
“FSIS intends to redistribute resources to more efficiently and effectively verify that the industry meets its responsibility to produce, store, and distribute safe and wholesome products,” the agency said in a Federal Register notice.
“The in-distribution pilots (programs) also will explore how new activities can address food safety hazards and other consumer protection issues, such as economic adulteration or improper labeling, in regard to the distribution of meat and poultry products out of plants into distribution channels, storage, retail food stores, restaurants, commercial kitchens, hotels, and other institutions,” the agency said.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
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