| July 19, 2004,
as reported by just-food.com: The US Department
of Agriculture is not doing an effective job getting potentially
contaminated meat off the market, according to an agency
audit.
The report said the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection
Service's "conclusions regarding the effectiveness
of food safety recalls may be based on inaccurate or
incomplete information", reported the Associated
Press.
The USDA inspector general’s office looked into
one of the largest recalls of the last few years, when
27.4 million pounds of processed deli poultry meat was
recalled due to possible listeria contamination. The
recall was initiated by US meat processor Pilgrim’s
Pride, which owned the Franconia, Pa. plant where the
meat had been processed, and monitored by the FSIS.
The recall recovered more than 5.5 million pounds of
meat before it was ended several months later when the
FSIS determined it had been effective. However, the
inspector general’s office said there were holes
in the records on which the FSIS had based its determination;
discrepancies were found in 389 of the 582 effectiveness
check forms that the office examined.
"We attributed this high error rate to the careless
approach FSIS compliance officers and supervisory personnel
took in overseeing the recall," the Associated
Press quoted the report as saying.
The FSIS said it has made several changes to its methods
for tracking recalls’ effectiveness since the
Franconia recall. The agency said it has strengthened
verification activities and established clearer lines
of authority.
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