* what the public expects inspection to accomplish with respect to food safety goals;
* how to handle storage and transportation food safety issues; and
* how to best develop new inspection models. The meeting began with agency officials discussing the current method of inspection and allocation of resources.
Agency officials reiterated their concern that the current inspection system, with its labor intensive slaughter inspection, has restricted the agency's ability to focus resources in other areas. And as industry production increases without corresponding increase in inspectors, shortages will become more frequent.
Margaret Glavin, Deputy Administrator for FSIS' Office of Policy, Program Development and Evaluation, noted that it makes more sense to reassign inspection resources based upon rational decision-making than to have events determine staffing. Following discussion of the current system, attendees provided comments.
National Meat Association Executive Director Rosemary Mucklow provided comments and said that "it is NMA's view that we must build them [new concepts for our inspection system] on a basis of interactive discussion and substantial consensus. We believe that new concepts can and must be worked out through interactive discussions with all parties at the table. We think that today's public meeting will help FSIS refine the subject matter into specific issues, and the best way to proceed is to once again go through an interactive meeting, similar to what occurred in September 1995, to get everyone's concerns on the table. And when I say everyone, I mean consumer advocacy groups, government employee organizations, academia, representatives of our international trading partners, scientists, public health and other government officials, state officials, and anyone else with a vested interest in how we shape the meat and poultry inspection system to meet the challenge of the next century."
The meeting also focused on three of five Issue Papers distributed by FSIS. These papers identify the topics which the agency believes must be addressed to facilitate the development of a new inspection systems and a new allocation of resources: Respective Roles of Government and Industry; Organoleptic Acceptability Criteria; In-Distribution Activities; Resource Deployment; and HACCP Inspection Methods Evaluation.
FSIS' plan of action, as outlined at the meeting is as follows: while the comment period remains open, FSIS will select slaughter plants who wish to volunteer for pilot testing of models developed by the agency. After selection, the agency will train the inspectors, finalize the models, and initiate the pilot tests. Following the pilot tests, FSIS will issue a final report. If the pilot is successful, FSIS will then proceed to propose new regulations.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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