Source:Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 7/25/19


USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will issue new slaughter inspection rules for pork “very soon” and is working to craft new rules for beef slaughter inspection, according to FSIS Deputy Administrator Paul Kiecker. 

Speaking at the American Association of Meat Processors annual conference here, Kiecker said the proposed swine slaughter rules received over 83,000 comments, which were taken into account in crafting the final rule.

Similar to the new poultry slaughter rules already in effect, the new pork slaughter inspection rules would focus inspectors’ attention on pathogen control through science and risk-based assessment, meaning some inspectors would be assigned to more tasks other than watching slaughter lines.   

The same groups that opposed the new inspection rules for poultry are vocally opposing the new rules for swine slaughter. On Thursday, groups including Food and Water Watch, Consumer Federation of America, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the National Employment Law Project issued a news release again voicing their opposition. 

Salmonella standards
Kiecker also noted that replacing outdated standards and procedures for detecting salmonella in poultry has included spreading out sampling throughout the year to take into account seasonal changes to get the most accurate look at a plant’s year-round safety record. Seasonally, more positives generally occur in warmer weather. 

The agency is also working to create performance standards for salmonella in beef. Kiecker encouraged conference participants to comment through the rule-making process. He did not give a timeline for those proposed standards to be published. 

Appendix A & B
FSIS cooking and cooling guidance, known as Appendix A & B, has been of great concern to small and very small plants. Kiecker acknowledged the challenges for these plants and noted several forms of outreach the agency is using to help facilities understand and comply with the guidance. 

The agency also plans to issue revised guidance, noting that original guidance was crafted for a narrow range of specific products, but now must be expanded to address new products and technologies. New guidance will be published in the Federal Register, and after that, plants will have a year to implement safe harbor.  

Foreign materials
Kiecker said the rules on reporting foreign materials contamination that went into effect in 2013 are aimed at encouraging the industry to look more closely at consumer and customer complaints and consider them as possible indications of systemic issues, rather than isolated incidents.

FSIS is working on further guidance on how to respond to consumer complaints and how to develop processes to detect and correct foreign material contamination. The comment period on that guidance closed in May, and the agency is currently reviewing those comments.

“In our efforts to modernize, we have not lost sight of the fact that 90% of federally inspected facilities are small and very small plants,” said Kiecker. “We are committed to providing the guidance and tools needed to comply.” 

Finally, Kiecker said FSIS is working to reduce the turnaround time for label approval, including expanding the use of generic labeling. He said some of the label changes processors are currently submitting for approval do not need approval, as they are already covered under generic labeling rules.

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