USDA Proposes Streamlining Poultry Inspections
Posted by Unknown in Inspection, Poultry, USDA on Monday, 28 January 2013
By Mary Clare Jalonick
Associated Press
The
Agriculture Department has proposed to reduce the number of government
inspectors at poultry slaughter plants in a move the agency says will
make inspections more efficient and improve food safety.
Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack said about 1,000 government inspector jobs at
poultry plants would be phased out as companies take over the job of
looking for visual flaws like bruises in chickens on the processing
line. Vilsack said inspectors would shift to jobs more important to food
safety, such as sampling for pathogens and keeping conditions sanitary.
The move could save the government as much as $95 million in the first three years, Vilsack said.
"The
modernization plan will protect public health, improve the efficiency
of poultry inspections in the United States, and reduce spending," he
said.
The
chicken industry supports the plan, which would speed up the rate at
which poultry is processed and could save companies and consumers more
than $250 million, according to the department. The shift would be
voluntary and has already been tested at some plants around the country.
USDA officials predict about 200 of the 300 qualified poultry plants in
the United States would make the switch.
Consumer group Food and Water Watch said the proposal would give poultry companies too much control over inspections.
"USDA
must abandon this plan that puts industry interests above consumer
protection," said Wenonah Hauter, director of the group.
Poultry
companies say they have made great strides in recent years to reduce
contamination of pathogens such as salmonella and campylobacter in their
products. But that has not made them immune to outbreaks of illness. An
outbreak of salmonella poisoning linked to Cargill ground turkey last
summer sickened at least 136 people and killed one, prompting a recall
of 36 million pounds of turkey.
