Source: Richard Lobb, MEATINGPLACE, 1/10/12

Two weeks after issuing a warning to meat and poultry plants making ready-to-eat products not to alter their routine procedures during testing for Listeria monocytogenes, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has tweaked its directive to make the consequences of such changes slightly less threatening to the plant.

In a revision issued Monday, FSIS softened its directive to enforcement and investigative officers to issue a negative report if a plant changes its practices in an attempt to avoid a poor showing in Listeria testing being conducted by USDA.

The original directive, issued Dec. 28, allowed the Enforcement, Investigations and Analysis Officer (EIAO) handling the testing to “instruct” in-plant inspection personnel to issue a Noncompliance Record (NR) if the EIAO found that the plant had made changes in its food safety systems or sanitation practices without good reasons. An NR is a black mark against the plant that can lead to intensified USDA oversight.
In the revision issued Monday, FSIS changed the directive to the EIAO say that these officers should “recommend” to supervisory personnel “that the in-plant inspection team issue an NR.”

FSIS said the notice was changed to “clarify the instructions” for the EIAO’s. The notice maintains the clear warning that a plant making ready-to-eat products should avoid changing its routine practices during testing.

“By altering routine practices, establishments may make changes that are not consistent with their documented food-safety system and that impeded FSIS’ ability to assess the safety of the product,” the agency said.

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