Under the sequester, which recently put in place across-the-board budget cuts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has no choice but to eventually furlough meat inspectors, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack again said on Friday. The statement
Continue Reading Vilsack: Under Sequestration, USDA Cannot Avoid Furloughing Meat Inspectors
DeLauro to Obama Admin: Don’t Weaken Food Safety in Canada Trade Intiatives
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) is urging the Obama administration to not weaken food safety protections in initiatives with Canada as the two countries work to hash out the details of the Regulatory Cooperation Council and
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Ohio First State to Gain Interstate Approval for Small, Local Meat Plants
Ohio this week became the first state to gain approval to sell meat from small, state-inspected slaughterhouses across state lines — a critical step toward rebuilding processing infrastructure for small-scale, regional meat and poultry producers.
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USDA Switching to New Plant Data Inspection System
Long in the making, the start-up date for USDA’s new Public Health Information System (PHIS) is now just two weeks away on May 29. It will replace the Performance Based Inspection System at all regulated
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FSIS Issues New Trim Sampling Requirements
The USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a notice last week that gives its inspection personnel specific instructions on how to randomly select the beef trimmings to be tested under the MT50 project
Federal Meat & Poultry Inspectors Add Up Busy Quarter
USDA recently disclosed criminal, civil, and administrative actions taken to enforce the federal meat and poultry inspection acts during the last three months of last year.
In a 47-page enforcement report for the period that
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Will Closing 5 FSIS Offices Impact Food Safety?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday that it would close 5 of its 15 Food Safety and Inspection (FSIS) District Offices as part of a consolidation that will decrease the agency’s budget and save
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If Oil Spills, Shuttle Failures Were Investigated Like E. Coli
If USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) had been assigned the responsibility to investigate last years’ oil spill in the Gulf, and provide solutions, the agency would have concluded:
1.) Louisiana, Mississippi, and other states are
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Off to a Rocky Start
Editor’s note: Last week we concluded a series by John Munsell that explained how his small meat plant in Miles City, MT, ran afoul of USDA’s meat inspection practices. John asked us to post one
E. Coli Confession: Part 6
Editor’s Note: This is the sixth installment in a series written by John Munsell of Miles City, MT, who explains how the small meat plant his family owned for 59 years ran afoul of USDA’s