Mike
Well-known member
FSIS Director before Congress
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FSIS ensures that imported meat is every bit as safe as domestically produced meat. FSIS requires imported meat to be inspected under a system that FSIS has determined – through a rigorous and comprehensive process – to be equivalent to the U.S. system. Then, upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry, FSIS reinspects all meat shipments. Almost all imported products, about 85 percent, then proceed to a U.S. plant for further processing into value-added products – all under FSIS inspection. So, approximately 85 percent of imported product undergoes inspection three times.
FSIS has certified only 37 countries as meeting U.S. inspection standards. This is out of the 190 countries recognized by the United States. In general, inspection under an equivalent system means meeting U.S. standards for microbiological pathogens and chemical residues; it also means meeting all sanitation standards and ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection requirements applicable to U.S. meat processing plants. Perhaps most importantly, all plants exporting meat to the United States must meet the requirements of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) inspection system, implemented in all U.S. plants over the past four years.
In any event, not one pound of imported product is permitted entry into the United States unless it has undergone inspection under a system certified by FSIS as equivalent to the FSIS inspection system. And, as I stated earlier, once imported product enters the United States, it undergoes reinspection.
FSIS does require country of origin labeling on all meat carcasses, parts of carcasses, and retail packages entering the United States. They must also be labeled with the foreign establishment number, either as part of the country's mark of inspection or on the product's packaging at the time of import. The container must bear, in English, in a prominent and legible manner: the country of origin, the foreign establishment number, and the name or descriptive designation of the meat product. How this information is displayed depends on whether it is on carcasses or on individual retail packages.
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FSIS ensures that imported meat is every bit as safe as domestically produced meat. FSIS requires imported meat to be inspected under a system that FSIS has determined – through a rigorous and comprehensive process – to be equivalent to the U.S. system. Then, upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry, FSIS reinspects all meat shipments. Almost all imported products, about 85 percent, then proceed to a U.S. plant for further processing into value-added products – all under FSIS inspection. So, approximately 85 percent of imported product undergoes inspection three times.
FSIS has certified only 37 countries as meeting U.S. inspection standards. This is out of the 190 countries recognized by the United States. In general, inspection under an equivalent system means meeting U.S. standards for microbiological pathogens and chemical residues; it also means meeting all sanitation standards and ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection requirements applicable to U.S. meat processing plants. Perhaps most importantly, all plants exporting meat to the United States must meet the requirements of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) inspection system, implemented in all U.S. plants over the past four years.
In any event, not one pound of imported product is permitted entry into the United States unless it has undergone inspection under a system certified by FSIS as equivalent to the FSIS inspection system. And, as I stated earlier, once imported product enters the United States, it undergoes reinspection.
FSIS does require country of origin labeling on all meat carcasses, parts of carcasses, and retail packages entering the United States. They must also be labeled with the foreign establishment number, either as part of the country's mark of inspection or on the product's packaging at the time of import. The container must bear, in English, in a prominent and legible manner: the country of origin, the foreign establishment number, and the name or descriptive designation of the meat product. How this information is displayed depends on whether it is on carcasses or on individual retail packages.
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