USDA Will Not Withdraw the New Poultry Inspection Rule

USDA Will Not Withdraw the New Poultry Inspection Rule.

The Government Accountability Office has issued a report that criticizes the way USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has handled pilot projects that led to a proposed rule to make changes to poultry inspections. Under Secretary for Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen says that will not prompt USDA to withdraw the rule. Hagen notes GAO did not suggest withdrawing the rule. She also points out that the rule is based on more than the pilot projects analyzed by the GAO and adds that this is about public health. According to Hagen – we’ve got to reverse the trend on salmonella – and this is a big step toward it. According to the GAO – stakeholders did not have adequate information to comment on the rule because of USDA’s lack of evaluation and disclosure. Hagen says the comment period is closed – but says the proposal will go through further drafting before it is sent to the Office of Management and Budget.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand – who chairs a Senate Ag Subcommittee – requested the GAO study. She said USDA did not thoroughly evaluate the performance of pilot projects to change the system of poultry inspection before concluding that an inspection system based on the pilot projects would ensure equivalent – if not better – levels of food safety and quality than currently provided at plants not in the pilot project.

Wenonah Hauter – Food and Water Watch Executive Director – says the GAO confirmed her group’s fears that FSIS does not have the scientific bases to justify privatizing poultry inspection. Hauter says it’s time to take a look at the poor management of FSIS, withdraw the flawed rule and restore the funding in the fiscal year 2014 budget to keep independent and trained FSIS inspectors on the job.

The National Chicken Council defends the proposal – saying it’s all about making food safer. The group believes the poultry inspection system should be modernized and notes FSIS plans to present updated analyses with the final rule in a manner that will facilitate public understanding of the information used to support the rulemaking.

The trial has been going on for 15 years and it does reduce the salmonella contamination by 20%. With the current budget restraints the Department of Agriculture has no choice but to use industry inspectors to enable their inspectors to watch the rest of the farm to reduce salminalla contamination.

The present on line inspection is mostly cosmetic and has very little to do with pathogens. Obviously a visual inspection will not catch contamination by microorganism although it will catch visceral and ficial  contamination.

The major problems with the present plan is the lack of training for the industries inspectors  and and the increased speed  of inspection. There is no question  at the increased speed there will be some things missed. Even so the new inspection will save lives by reducing the amount of pathogens on the birds.. If the Department of agriculture addressed these two issues they would have a very good plan..