The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found issues with USDA’s FSIS pilot programs for proposed meat and poultry inspection protocols, stating there was insufficient data to verify the quality or safety of food these programs could deliver. Meanwhile, other media sources claim the pilot programs fail to stop contaminated meat from entering the supply chain.
The USDA’s proposed inspection protocols would cut down on the number of federally required inspectors, replacing them with processor or third-party inspectors. These pilot programs come at a time when processors are increasing line speeds, requiring more trained inspectors to keep up with production.