The USDA Inspector General has launched an internal investigation into the agency’s handling of problems at a Boar’s Head production plant linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture handled the situation at the deli meat production plant as an “abject failure.”
Continue Reading USDA launches internal investigation into handling of Boar’s Head inspections
Members of Congress, and the reporters who cover them, love to be in the know, and, when they do not have that insider information, they feel a bit weak and vulnerable. I get it. I also get that the San Francisco foodie community is upset that they are having trouble
Continue Reading Publisher’s Platform: Members of Congress and San Francisco Foodies, Let the Process Work
Too many repeat violations are occurring at federally inspected pig slaughter plants, and the problem lies with inadequate enforcement, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Inspector General. The IG‘s conclusion is found in a recently released audit report on USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) inspection and enforcement
Continue Reading Too Many Repeat Violators in Hog Slaughter, IG Report Says
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s increasing reliance on state and local officials to conduct boots-on-the-ground inspections of food facilities may leave consumers vulnerable, a Health and Human Services Inspector General report states.
The report, issued Tuesday, identifies “significant weaknesses” in FDA’s oversight of these inspections, which are often conducted
Continue Reading Inspector General Faults FDA Outsourcing of State Inspections
Officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have made some serious missteps trying to keep potentially hazardous imported food off the market, according to a new government audit.
The FDA did not always follow its own procedures to ensure foods were effectively recalled, a new report by the Health
Continue Reading Audit Finds Lapses in FDA Imported Food Recalls
The U.S. government’s “right hand” was grading and okaying egg shipments while its “left hand” was testing for and finding Salmonella contamination. And the right hand had no idea what the left hand was doing.
That pretty well sums up the findings of USDA’s Inspector General, who was
Continue Reading Audit Chides USDA for Approving Tainted Eggs
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has come out with yet another report lambasting the federal food safety system for being fragmented and in need of reform, this time calling on the Office of Management and Budget to facilitate better governmentwide coordination.
In a report released Friday, GAO noted that while
Continue Reading GAO: Food Safety Fragmentation Needs to be Fixed
One week after U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General Phyllis Fong called for better E. coli O157:H7 testing procedures, the Beef Industry Food Safety Council unveiled new, voluntary guidelines for testing products such as beef “trim,” the leftover pieces from larger cuts used to make ground beef.
As first reported in
Veterinary drugs, pesticides, and heavy metals are making it onto our plates via meat, according to a federal audit released this week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report concludes that the agencies responsible for monitoring harmful residues are “not accomplishing” their mission. “Together,
Continue Reading Audit Finds Tainted Meat Reaching Consumers
