In the past, the daily observations and findings made by the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) were never shared with the public. Although the agency historically has issued a quarterly report summarizing the overall statistics of its inspection activities (such as the total number of non-compliance reports, or NRs, issued to the industry in a given period), the agency has never associated the establishments it regulates by name with these general statistics. As a result, there was no mechanism for the public (or even the beef industry as a whole) to know which establishments were experiencing the most difficulty operationally — whether maintaining sanitation, receiving the most NRs or finding the most pathogens. According to FSIS, this is all about to change.
To the surprise of many, the agency has just released its “Establishment-Specific Data Release Strategic Plan.” According to the strategic plan, FSIS intends to begin sharing establishment-specific data with the public. The program will be phased, according to the agency.