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Inspection Programs In Food Safety Procedure

Today there are no real distinctions between federal and state inspection requirements. State meat and poultry inspection programs must equal or exceed the level of food safety for the federal inspection program. This has been verified through USDA’s annual reviews and oversight of state inspection programs over the past 35 years. The question of allowing interstate sales of state-inspected products is a simple fairness issue. Most of the state-inspected meat plants are owned and operated by small business owners. The prohibition on interstate meat sales—the only such prohibition of any food product—disrupts the free flow of trade and restricts the ability of small business entrepreneurs to economically compete in the marketplace. Interstate sales will spur more competition and innovation in the industry by giving farmers and ranchers more opportunities to sell their livestock at a better price. Without change, growing concentration in the processing sector will continue to leave smaller farmers and ranchers with fewer buyers for their livestock and poultry.

State Meat Inspection Programs are required to be audited by the  Office of Program Enforcement, Evaluations and Review  to be verified as meeting “equal to” requirements set by . The audit or review process consists of two parts; the self assessment and the on-site audit. Self assessments are written documentation of how a state program implements its program in a manner “equal to”  and are annually submitted to On-site audits are conducted every three years to verify the information in the state self assessments. This process has become fundamentally flawed because of three primary issues;  is exceeding its statutory authority by requiring state programs to address all federal directives, notices and policies; has no standard to measure “equal to” criteria because the audit branch does not review federally inspected plants and;  continually changes its expectations of state programs.

It is unreasonable for state inspection programs to be subject to ever-changing expectations and standards. to develop standards which are applied to federal inspection practices and require  auditors to use those standards as the benchmark for determining “equal to” status of state 먹튀폴리스 inspection programs.Traditionally, the Secretary has assumed authority over various segments of the meat and poultry industry based on the type of operations being conducted such as inspection at wholesale operations but not at retail operations. Inspection of the production of meat and poultry food products has been based on the amount of meat or poultry in a product and not on the potential risks of those products.

A more efficient and effective method of inspection would include a risk assessment of the food safety hazards associated with the type of product or processes involved in production. The percentage of meat or poultry in a product should not be the determining factor in a food safety program. The process used to control, monitor, and verify the production of that food is the most important consideration for consumers.

All food entering commerce, both traditional and non-traditional, aquatic and exotic animals, should be included in the inspection process. Many of the currently exempted items pose the same potential health risks as those presently mandated for inspection. With increased productivity, varying consumer preference, and the lack of a consistent nationwide inspection program, exempting meat and poultry food products from inspection as is currently done under the present system cannot be justified.

 

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