Dive Brief:
- A "whistle-blower protection organization," the Government Accountability Project, expressed concerns that some processing lines at U.S. hog slaughterhouses may be risking food safety and food contamination. Reportedly, the plants move too quickly for inspectors to adequately assess the process.
- The advocacy group received affidavits from four government meat inspectors, who address the situations at four pork-processing plants participating in a U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program meant to make the lines go faster in an effort to better food safety and decrease inspection costs.
- These inspectors report practices at these plants which risk the salmonella infestation of the meat they process.
Dive Insight:
Such programs and concerns for food safety are common in the raw meat industries today. The U.S. poultry industry is under a similar pilot program, which is also drawing food safety concerns. Over the summer, the USDA proposed a new rule for beef producers to keep better records to improve the ease of illness traceability. In May, both Tyson and Hormel were affected by a porcine epidemic diarrhea virus.