Beefs About Poultry Inspections

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Recalls Fuel Proposed Shift

Currently, the USDA requires that federal inspectors visually examine each bird carcass at the slaughterhouse before the carcass is sent for further processing. This system requires inspectors to examine all sides of the bird as well as its inner cavity, identifying diseases, sores, and contaminants such as fecal matter. The USDA's Food Safety & Inspection Service's proposed change would eliminate that requirement and instead channel more resources into microbial testing while the carcass is being processed.

The proposed changes follow the recall of nearly 22 million lb. of ground beef by Topps Meat in September, 2007, for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination, which sparked widespread concern about consumer safety and led to Topps' decision to shut down the next month. In October, 2002, Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) recalled more than 27 million lb. of poultry products believed to be tainted by listeria. Hudson Foods recalled 25 million lb. of frozen beef patties in August, 1997, fearing E. coli contamination. The next year, it was acquired by a subsidiary of meat processor Tyson Foods (TSN).

The proposed plan, which is currently being tested at a handful of plants, would be implemented first for young chickens in the poultry industry and could potentially be applied to the entire U.S. meat industry. More than 8 million young chickens are slaughtered annually in the U.S., according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Potential Impact of Fewer Inspectors

A Jan. 25 report from the USDA, "Poultry Slaughter Technical Report," argues that a more effective system would reallocate inspection resources from visual examinations at slaughterhouses to microbial testing at the processing level. The new system "will likely focus on establishments and points within the poultry slaughter process at which microbial contamination…is likely to occur," according to the report.

When the USDA proposed the changes in 2007, it estimated annual cost savings of $14 million. But Amanda Eamich, a spokesperson for the USDA's Food Safety & Inspection Service, wrote in a Feb. 6 e-mail that the proposal is "resource neutral," and would not alter the agency's budget or number of inspectors. "The program would allow for more focus on specific public health activities with our available resources," wrote Eamich.

Critics say reducing the number of federal inspectors at slaughterhouses—and allowing companies to employ their own inspectors—would weaken food safety standards. "A company employee could be pressured to skip and destroy birds that visibly look sick as opposed to testing them," says Jackie Nowell, a spokesperson for UFCW, which represents 170,000 meat and poultry processing workers. Removing federal inspectors from slaughterhouses would also remove maximum line-speed regulations on slaughterhouses. Currently, poultry slaughterhouses process up to 30 birds per minute, but the new regulations could allow them to process up to 200 birds per minute, Nestor says.

Performance Issues

Nowell says change would put consumers at risk and endanger workers: "Higher line speeds would increase many of the injuries workers experience, especially musculoskeletal disorders." During the first day of the public meeting on the Public Health Based Slaughter Inspection System, some industry representatives said the plan needs to be tested further before it is rolled out nationwide.

The poultry industry, on the whole, supports changing the current system. "The government is trying to improve overall performance, and to lessen the number of federal inspectors [in slaughterhouses]," says Richard Lobb, spokesperson for the National Chicken Council. "You can have all the federal employees you want looking at a chicken, but they won't be able to see microbiological material."

Herbst is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in New York.