4. Raising Consumers' Confidence in Food Safety

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Mission

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), a public health agency in USDA, protects consumers by ensuring that the Nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and accurately labeled, as required by the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), and the Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA).

FSIS inspects livestock and poultry before and after slaughter, and also regulates all raw beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey, as well as processed meat and poultry and egg products prepared for distribution in interstate and foreign commerce, including imported products. More than 7,500 Federal inspectors carry out inspection laws in over 6,000 plants.

Foodborne illness is recognized as a significant public health problem in the United States. FSIS develops new methods of inspection to better protect the public health. It tracks new and emerging public health problems related to food safety. And it responds to microbiological, residue, and other contamination incidents and, when appropriate, seeks voluntary recall of products by firms.

FSIS continues to carry out a broad and long-term, science-based strategy to improve the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products and to better protect public health. The agency is undertaking a farm-to-table approach by taking steps to improve the safety of meat and poultry at each step in the food production, processing, distribution, and marketing chain. These steps are designed to focus more attention on the risk of microbial contamination, the Nation’s most significant food safety problem.

Accomplishment Highlights, FY 1998

HACCP Implementation Successful
On January 26, 1998, more than 300 large meat and poultry plants (those with 500 or more employees) were required to have Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems in place. Large plants account for approximately 75 percent of slaughter production.

FSIS Initiated an Aggressive Outreach Program To Assist Small Plants With HACCP Implementation
FSIS efforts to assist small plants (defined as having 10 or more employees, but fewer than 500) include three initiatives. The first is working with a HACCP coordinator in each State to bring together resources for that State. Second, FSIS is encouraging land-grant universities that conduct livestock or poultry slaughter or processing operations to develop HACCP systems for their operations and to serve as sources of information for small plants. And third, industry and trade association personnel, extension agents, and other appropriate people are strongly encouraged to act as “sponsors” to small plants by offering technical information on HACCP systems.

Nationwide Series of 20 Public Meetings To Help Small Plants
FSIS held the first 2 of a series of 20 public meetings across the country on HACCP implementation for small plants. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss ways to help owners and managers of small plants prepare for the January 25, 1999, HACCP implementation date.

Technical Service Center Operates HACCP Hotline
Since its beginning on January 20, 1998, the HACCP Hotline has handled over 10,000 inquiries, contributing to the successful implementation of HACCP during this critical time.

Risk Assessments
FSIS initiated the first farm-to-table quantitative risk assessment for Salmonella enteritidis in eggs and egg products. Results were presented at a June 12, 1998, risk forum sponsored by USDA’s Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis. A risk assessment is also underway for E. coli O157:H7 in meat.

FSIS Issues Rule on Requirement for Shell Eggs
At the direction of Congress, FSIS published a final rule on new regulations implementing requirements for refrigeration and labeling of shell eggs. The rule implements 1991 amendments to the Egg Products Inspection Act.

Encouraging Results in First 6 Months of Testing for Salmonella in Large Meat and Poultry Plants
FSIS released a progress report on the first 6 months of testing for Salmonella in large meat and poultry plants. Because the data is preliminary, FSIS is taking a conservative approach in interpreting and presenting the data; however, there is a general trend toward lower percentages of products that are positive for Salmonella.

Risk Analysis on BSE To Be Done by Harvard School of Public Health
USDA entered into a cooperative agreement with Harvard University’s School of Public Health to conduct a risk analysis to assess the potential pathways for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to enter into U.S. cattle and the U.S. food supply, to evaluate existing regulations and policies, and to identify any additional measures that could be taken to protect human and animal health.

Meat and Poultry Hotline
The hotline received 164,575 calls during FY 1998. Hotline specialists spoke with approximately 38,621 of those callers during business hours, recording data that were used for trend analysis. In addition to basic food handling, storage, and preparation questions, the hotline addressed the latest issues: BSE; product recalls; E. coli O157:H7 testing; premature browning of ground beef; transportation and storage of shell eggs; HACCP implementation; campylobacter, Salmonella and poultry; irradiation; and organic labeling.

One of the year’s highlights was the November 25 visit by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman. Secretary Glickman personally answered several hotline calls. The event generated interest in the hotline among the reporters in attendance, and crews from both NBC and CNN returned subsequently for filming and interviews.

Science-Based Advice for Consumers Cooking Ground Beef
Research by FSIS and ARS supported the hypothesis that the color of a cooked hamburger is not a reliable indicator that a safe internal temperature has been reached. FSIS was instrumental in devising the study protocol and presenting the findings and implications for consumer education through several public meetings. To convey the message to consumers that safety is signified by a reading of 160 degrees F. on a thermometer, FSIS, the Office of the Secretary, the Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, and the White House worked together to plan an event featuring Vice President Gore and Secretary Glickman—a July 2 barbecue held on the Jamie L. Whitten Federal building lawn.

Partnership for Food Safety Education Fight BAC!™
As a founding member of the private-public partnership, FSIS was in the forefront of the campaign to instill the four key messages of the Fight BAC!™ campaign in the mind of every American. FSIS managed several campaign initiatives during the year. These include placement of the Fight BAC!™ brochure at the Consumer Information Center (CIC) in Pueblo, Colorado; an estimated 50,000 copies have been distributed through CIC. The agency also managed requests for the Fight BAC!™ costume, exhibit, and puppets at locations nationwide. A Food Safety Education Month poster—developed in cooperation with the American School Food Service Association and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—was distributed to 53,000 elementary school cafeterias. Finally, FSIS reviewed proposals to produce an educational package for middle-school students; the firm has been selected and work has begun.

National Food Safety Information Network
The President’s National Food Safety Initiative directed agencies to establish a national clearinghouse for food safety education. FSIS worked with FDA to develop a proposal for this “clearinghouse,” which is currently referred to as the National Food Safety Information Network. One of the Network’s components was put into place in FY 1998 when government food safety sites on the World Wide Web were linked to help web users more easily find government information on food safety. The URL is http://www.foodsafety.gov/

Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1998
This bill was developed by the Secretary and forwarded to Congress to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to provide for improved public health and food safety through enhanced enforcement.

President’s Executive Order Creates Food Safety Council
An Executive Order signed by President Clinton on August 25, 1998, established the President’s Council on Food Safety. The primary functions of the Council will be to develop a comprehensive strategic Federal food safety plan; advise agencies of priority areas for investment in food safety, ensure that Federal agencies annually develop coordinated food safety budgets; and oversee the recently established Joint Institute for Food Safety Research, ensuring that it addresses the highest priority research needs. The Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services and the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology/Director of the Office of Science and Technology will serve as Joint Chairs of the Council.

FSIS Makes Report to Congress Available
FoodNet: An Active Surveillance System for Bacterial Foodborne Disease in the United States, April 1998, is a report generated by the collaborative project among FSIS, CDC, and FDA; it includes data on the incidence of foodborne illness for calendar year 1997.

HACCP-Base Inspection Models Project
FSIS is designing new models for inspection within plants that slaughter three specific classes of animals to define what the agency and the regulated industry should do when those plants are operating under HACCP. With inspectors in these slaughter plants no longer carrying out activities that should be the plant’s responsibility, FSIS could better focus on public health concerns and further implement its farm-to-table strategy.

New Computer Network To Fight Foodborne Illness Launched
On May 22, 1998, Vice President Gore announced a new national computer network called PulseNet that will be five times faster in identifying foodborne illness. PulseNet will enable public health laboratories throughout the country to use the Internet to provide alerts when outbreaks of foodborne disease occur.