Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 11/30/11

Publicly releasing a variety of establishment-specific data beyond recalls could provide incentives to protect brand reputation and create economic pressure on companies to improve their own food safety practices.

This, according to a report released today by the National Research Council at the request of the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

The report comes in light of the Obama administration’s push for increased transparency across federal agencies — including the requirement to publish information online. FSIS tapped the National Research Council to study the consequences of making establishment-specific data from meat and poultry facilities publicly available online.

Some data is already available to the public online but is aggregated and does not contain names of specific processing facilities.

The committee concluded that releasing establishment-specific data “could yield valuable insights that go beyond the regulatory uses for which the data were collected.” The committee considered both sampling and testing data (from standard laboratory tests) and inspection and enforcement data (from reports written by inspectors) in its report.

It went so far as to recommend that — based on current evidence of the adverse effects of publicly releasing such data — it isn’t sufficient to predict a similar outcome if FSIS releases data. “Although the literature suggests that disclosure of information about the performance of a specific facility has the potential to affect the facility’s profitability,” the committee writes, “it is precisely this possibility that creates an incentive for improved performance, which would constitute a benefit from the perspective of the public.”

Because of the complexity of issues associated with public release of data with facility names, the committee suggests an effective disclosure plan. For example, potential adverse effects could be minimized if FSIS ensures the data's integrity, provides definitions of what is being quantified and is careful to protect confidential information associated with particular facilities. To help make sure that the public release of the data will be useful, the committee is suggesting that FSIS define a timetable for its release.   

The committee also recommends that FSIS consult with other agencies that have released detailed regulatory data on the performance of individual facilities or firms, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO), the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration, and several states and local public health departments that have released data on restaurant hygiene and inspection grading.

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