Food Safety and Inspection Addiction

Professions > Quality Assurance/Safety

Description

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), recently commemorated over 100 years of protecting the food supply under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA). FSIS is the public health agency responsible for ensuring that the nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged. This includes all food products that contain more than 6-7% meat products.

More than 7,800 FSIS inspection program personnel are assigned to approximately 6,200 Federal slaughter, food processing, and import establishments in the United States. They verify that the processing of tens of billions of pounds of meat and poultry, and billions of pounds of liquid egg products are presented for import inspection at U.S. ports and borders from countries that FSIS has determined to have inspection systems equivalent to Federal inspection systems.

Everyone in the food chain, from farmer through consumer, has a responsibility in keeping the food supply safe. Meat, poultry, and processed egg products can be contaminated with bacteria at any point during production, distribution, and consumption. FSIS works closely with other Federal agencies that have some role in the regulation of meat, poultry, and processed egg products along the farm to table continuum.

The vital services of FSIS have touched the lives of almost every citizen, every day in America. FSIS is accountable for protecting the lives and wellbeing of 295 million U.S. citizens and millions more around the world.

Recalls

Recalls are voluntary actions by manufacturers, distributors or importers to protect the public by removing from commerce products that are adulterated or misbranded.

As soon as FSIS learns that a meat or poultry product under its jurisdiction may be unsafe or mislabeled is in commerce, the agency forms a team to determine whether a recall is needed. The Recall Committee is composed of FSIS representatives from various areas of expertise. The committee evaluates all the information available and makes a recommendation to the establishment whose product is in question, including the parameters of the recall.

After a recall issued, FSIS conducts effectiveness checks to ensure that the company's customers (or consignees) have received notice of the recall and are making every effort to retrieve and destroy the recalled product or return it to the recalling firm. FSIS personnel verify that the recalling firm has been diligent and successful in notifying and advising their consignees of the need to retrieve and control recalled product, and that the consignees have responded accordingly. FSIS has formal agreements with many state governments that allow those states to participate in effectiveness checks, thus improving the speed and effectiveness of recalls.

When a product is recalled, FSIS issues a recall release to the media in the affected area, sends it to public health partners and stakeholders and posts it on the FSIS Web site. Individuals may sign up to receive an automatic e-mail notification sign up to receive an automatic email notification when the FSIS recalls Web page is updated.

In certain situations where a recall is not warranted, but there is still a risk to public health, FSIS may issue a public health alert. PHAs have been issued when a product was not considered adulterated, but illnesses were involved; when illnesses were associated with a meat or poultry product, but a source of contamination was not identified; or a product is no longer available in commerce, but may be held or in use by consumers.

SELECTED USDA AGENCIES

* Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
* Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
* Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
* National Agricultural Library (NAL)
* Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC)
* Food Safety Information Center

STATE GOVERNMENT

* State Departments of Public Health and Agriculture

PARTNERSHIPS

* Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE)