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Inspections to Change

Mike

Well-known member
CattleNetwork_Today 2/23/2007 7:38:00 AM


USDA's Risk-Based Meat Inspection Plan Draws Criticism



WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's plan to increase inspection for some meat processing plants while downgrading the importance of others is drawing criticism from diverse interests.



The criticism includes charges that the USDA is moving forward too quickly with its risk-based inspection system, that the plan is too focused on reducing inspection for some producers and that the government doesn't have data to properly decide which plants need increased scrutiny.



Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said Thursday she doesn't believe the USDA is ready to take on the massive undertaking being proposed by its Food Safety and Inspection Service.



"I will be carefully monitoring FSIS as they move forward with this proposal," DeLauro said. "But at first glance, it would seem that in this instance RBI stands for 'rolling back inspection' not risk-based inspection."



Non-profit consumer group Food & Water Watch charged that the database that "USDA would use to calculate the risk posed by each plant, which determines the amount of overnment inspection that plants will receive, is nowhere near complete enough or accurate enough to give a realistic picture of how plants are performing."



USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Richard Raymond disagreed.



He said the government has been collecting data for years that show which plants have the most problems with food-borne pathogens such as the harmful bacteria E. coli O157:H7.



"This new process will take what I already believe is a very safe food supply and make it safer," Raymond said.



It will do that, he said, by intensifying inspections at meat processing plants that are judged to need it more and lessening the intensity of inspections at facilities that are judged to present less risk.



Raymond is proposing the use two factors to determine the risk of individual plants: the "inherent risk" of the product being produced and an individual plant's track record on its ability to handle risk.



The USDA is still required by law to conduct daily inspections at plants, Raymond said, but he doesn't believe they should all be treated equally.



"Some plants will have more intense inspections, by a slight degree, and some will have less intense inspections," he said.



For example, Raymond said, there is much more pathogen risk involved in producing ground beef than "intact" cuts like steaks.



The concept of a risk-based inspection system makes good sense, the American Meat Institute, an industry group, said in a statement Thursday. It stressed, however, that it believes the USDA is moving too quickly and complained its members were still in the dark on details.



Raymond's announcement Thursday that USDA would begin these risk-based inspections at 254 facilities around the country in April "took the industry by surprise," AMI said. The group also complained that the government, rather than industry, would choose which plants will participate in the first stage of the plan.



"This effort stands in sharp contrast to historic efforts, as the meat and poultry industry were told today that USDA will be selecting participating plants for this new prototype program," AMI said.



In contrast, Grocery Manufacturers/Food Products Association President and CEO Cal Dooley said the group was pleased.



"We view Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond's announced plans for moving ahead with risk-based inspection of meat and poultry processing plants as a step forward to creating a more effective and efficient inspection system," he said.



Source: Bill Tomson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-646-0088; [email protected]
 
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