Thursday, April 07, 2011
Nearly 10 years since it first considered the idea, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finally decided to make processors hold onto meat being tested by federal regulators and not sell it until results demonstrate it’s safe to consume.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) first thought of imposing this requirement in 2002, but held off out of concern for how it might impact small operators.
Currently, the government requests slaughterhouses to keep tested product off the market until they get negative test results. If the new rule goes into effect, companies will be mandated to wait.
The American Meat Institute asked the USDA in 2008 to establish such a “test and hold” rule.
Federal officials say that if the requirement had been in effect beginning in 2007, it would have prevented dozens of meat recalls and saved $46 million a year through 2009.
The new rule is subject to a 90-day public comment period, after which the FSIS will examine any feedback and decide whether any changes should be made before rendering a final decision on adoption.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
USDA Proposes 'Test and Hold' Rule for Meat (by Robert Roos, CIDRAP)
USDA Announces Proposed Test and Hold Requirement for Meat and Poultry Products (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Not Applying the Mark of Inspection Pending Certain Test Results (Food Safety and Inspection Service) (pdf)
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