In order to modernize its work at slaughter plants, the USDA proposed a new inspection program that allows “innovation and flexibility” at plants slaughtering young and generally healthy market hogs. The consumer group Food and Water Watch called the proposed New Swine Inspection Sytems an attempt to privatize meat inspection and to speed up line speeds.
The USDA said the NSIS would be voluntary and would maintain USDA inspection of each carcass while increasing the number of “off-line” tasks aimed at food safety. The proposed rule also would require all swine slaughter plants to take additional measures to control pathogens found in hog intestines that can cause food-borne illness.
“There is no single technology or process to address the problem of food-borne illness but when we focuses our inspections on food safety-related tasks, we better protect American families,” said acting deputy undersecretary Carmen Rottenberg.
Wenonah Hauter, of Food and Water Watch, said the USDA proposal was “based on a pilot program that clearly failed to show that allowing companies to inspect themselves can produce safe food.” The USDA plan would reduce the overall number of federal inspectors in plants, Hauter said.
The National Pork Producers Council said the pilot program, abbreviated as HIMP, “yielded very positive results” at the five plants where it was tested. The council said the NSIS “assigns increased inspection responsibility to plant operators, allowing the USDA to dedicate its resources to general oversight of food safety standards and the overall inspection process.”
There is a 60-day comment period on the proposal. The Federal Register notice for NSIS was not available because of the federal shutdown.