Investigate Midwest (https://investigatemidwest.org/tag/fsis/)
As coronavirus cases mounted at meatpacking plants this month, the federal government granted 15 poultry processors waivers to cut chickens faster, usually by crowding more workers onto their production lines.
As early as this month, the Trump administration could allow pork plant employees rather than federal inspectors to be responsible for hazard analysis and critical control points inspection measures.
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says in 2018 there have been dozens of recalls involving millions of pounds of sausage, calzones and chicken whatnots contaminated with metal, plastic and other foreign non-food bits of dangerous materials.
Months after a handful of senators called for better food-safety regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed new standards for cut up poultry. Currently, agencies only monitor whole poultry carcasses for pathogens.
When Congress approved a nearly $1 trillion spending bill late last week, it also approved increased funding to federal food-safety programs. Under the new 2015 appropriations bill, two U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies will receive an estimated $40 million in funding.
As Americans gear up to eat more than 40 million pounds of turkey this month, a handful of U.S. senators are calling for stronger Department of Agriculture oversight to reduce pathogens in poultry. Their push follows a recent government report that found poultry products – such as chicken and turkey – cause more foodborne-illness deaths than any other commodity.
Earlier in May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that more than 60 people across 23 states were affected by the most recent outbreak of Salmonella. Testing traced the illnesses to individuals who had contact with chicks, ducklings and other baby poultry from Mt. Healthy Hatcheries in Ohio.
Problems with a Washington-based company's Salmonella testing records caused USDA officials to recommend expanding an already massive nationwide recall. But the company -- Nutriom LLC, a producer of dehydrated-egg products -- declined to expand the recall. The decision consequently moved food safety officials to issue a public health alert.
Multiple federal and state agencies have roles in the regulation of our food system. When a problem occurs, producers, consumers and even members of the media can have a hard time figuring out which agency to turn to for answers. While each specific case can have its nuances, here is a general guideline for the oversight process of domestic production and distribution of chicken and meat.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that since March 2013 about 480 people across 25 states have become sick from consuming chicken contaminated with an antibiotic-resistant strain of Heidelberg Salmonella. Nearly two out of every five of those people had to be hospitalized.