Poor Results for Meat Inspection System

[Guest guest]

From p. A7 of today's Chronicle:

 

POOR RESULTS FOR MEAT INSPECTION SYSTEM

 

Washington - The government plans to go forward with an experimental

meat inspection system despite test results that showed some plants had more

problems with contaminated products than before.

 

Under the new system, federal inspectors no longer do hand checks of

carcasses, leaving that job to company employees. The inspectors are

supposed to spend more time monitoring plant sanitation equipment,

overseeing plant workers and sampling products for contamination.

 

Five of 11 chicken processing plants participating in the program had

higher rates of salmonella contamination than they had before, according to

a report by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of

Congress.

 

Test results also showed higher rates of defects such as bruises on

chickens produced by many of the 11 plants, GAO said, disputing assertions

by the Agriculture Department that the program had resulted in safer

products.

 

Agriculture Department officials said yesterday that they wouldn't make

the system mandatory but planned to expand it to new facilities on a

voluntary basis. Last year, the department said the system worked so well

that they would expand it to all 200 poultry processors nationwide.