Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 1/25/12

USDA’s announcement Friday to all but abandon the food inspection system under which federal inspectors examine chicken and turkey carcasses on the slaughter line by sight, touch and smell was a clear message to the industry that the government intends to stress offline quality assurance — a “rare opportunity for us to advance a policy that not only advances our mission but allows for tremendous cost savings for your industry,” Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, under secretary for food safety, told attendees at the annual International Poultry Expo this morning.

It was an indication of the latest efforts by FSIS to tackle the ever-present threat of pathogens across the producer-to-packer continuum — including pre-harvest activities. “We’re not looking for new authority, but in the position we’re in it’s our responsibility to foster meaningful dialogue about this,” she said.

Last year the agency sponsored a pre-harvest food safety symposium targeting beef cattle, and Hagen hinted at an upcoming symposium focusing on pre-harvest interventions in poultry to address Campylobacter. “We know that the risk is not zero, but there are still challenges,” she added, referring to last summer’s massive 36 million pound recall of ground turkey from a Cargill plant.

That said, though, Hagen is pleased with the work that the industry is doing to combat pathogens. “The industry is stepping up and coming up with some great ideas, but we’re looking to set higher performance standards for that industry,” she said, adding that they’ll likely be set within the next year.

“We’re seeing Salmonella outbreaks going in the wrong direction; Campylobacter has plateaued; you are achieving better performance at the plants, but we need to figure out what’s driving those,” she said. “The challenge is figuring out what’s driving persistently high rates of human illness. We see high rates of contamination in chicken parts, and we’re going to get some very interesting data out about it.”

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