CONTACT:
Jen Mueller, 202-797-6553
jmueller [at] fwwatch.org

Consumer Group Calls on USDA To
Stop Rush Toward Weakened Meat Inspection

Public Meeting to Discuss “Risk Based Inspection System” Scheduled

 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has embarked on a scheme that would radically change the way that meat and poultry are inspected.  The agency is considering the Risk Based Inspection System (RBIS), a proposal that erodes the concept of “continuous government inspection” of meat and poultry, one of the core requirements mandated by the Federal Meat Inspection and the Poultry Products Inspection Acts.
 
On October 10 and 11, the Agency will convene a public meeting at the Arlington Campus of George Mason University, to discuss how to create a more “robust risk-based inspection system.”  The meeting will serve as a substitute for the formal public comment process triggered by a Federal Register notice.
 
Food & Water Watch has a number of concerns with the process the agency is using to move this proposal, given the radical difference between the new system and the statutes that establish meat and poultry inspection programs.  In order for the meeting to allow a meaningful public discussion, several things have to happen:
 
1.  The agency must provide complete information about current industry performance. Any discussion about how to base meat inspection on risk must be preceded by a thorough understanding of how plants are currently performing. 
 
Data on compliance with agency regulations, microbial testing results, and the incidence of illness in consumers are necessary for an informed discussion of risk-based inspection.  Current methods of collecting this data are incapable of providing accurate information, therefore the agency must use this public meeting to explain how they plan to develop sound data collection methods that provide a solid foundation for any changes to the inspection system.
 
2. FSIS inspectors must have the opportunity to share their perspectives with all the other stakeholders. It is imperative that inspectors be able to detail the realities of how plants are actually performing as part of the public discussion.  
 
The perspective of FSIS inspectors on the realities of how plants are actually performing, as opposed to the theory of rules written by agency headquarters, is vital to this discussion.  In order to maximize the participation of inspectors from the field, the public meeting should be held at a time and location that enables them to participate without having to take a day off of work.
 
3. The agency should not rush this proposal into effect.  Even though the agency has promised that there will be a systematic process for implementing a more robust risk based inspection system, there seems to be a sudden sense of urgency to put this system in place.
 
We have heard repeatedly from both industry and the Under Secretary for Food Safety that changes have to be made before the next presidential election in 2008.  And as recently as last month, the Under Secretary was quoted in the media as saying that he wanted to roll out the new inspection program by the first quarter of 2007. 
 
Recent events at the agency suggest that the agency's actions are resource related.  The agency must not use this public meeting as a mere formality as it marches towards a radical change in public health policy under an artificial deadline. If the agency is under budgetary pressures, it should make this clear to Congress in order to ensure adequate funding.
 
4. Elements of risk based inspection should not be implemented in a piecemeal fashion, before a proper consideration of the concept is made.  Already, the agency has told the media that they are considering allowing “virtual inspection” of plants – allowing companies to email records so that agency personnel can examine them without ever coming to the plant.  This is a dramatic departure from the requirements of continuous government inspection.  The agency must solicit public comment on this proposal before implementing this change.
 
More details on the Oct. 10 & 11 public meeting.