FSIS plans to enhance the Meat, Poultry and Egg Product Inspection (MPI) Directory and the Establishment Demographic Data (MPI Supplement) files to increase transparency by providing additional data on establishment demographics, slaughter and processing activities.

The planned enhancements include incorporating additional establishment demographic variables and important geolocation information that uniquely identify geographic areas, latitude and longitude of an establishment.

In addition, FSIS will expand the number of slaughter subclasses reported. As an example, animals like buffalo, bison and elk that were previously classified as “Other Meat” will be expanded so they can be viewed independently. Similarly, FSIS is adding ratite slaughter information and including each subclass as appropriate.

Information for harvesting and processing cell-cultured products will be added and distinguished by inspection type, like “Meat” or “Poultry,” and activity type, like “Harvest” or “Processing.”

FSIS will also begin identifying slaughter or processing exemptions that will be distinguished by class like “Meat” or “Poultry” and type like “Custom Slaughter,” “Custom Processing,” “Retail” or “Religious.”

Finally, the MPI Supplement, which had previously specified if an establishment processed “Ready-To-Eat (RTE),” “Not Ready-To-Eat (NRTE),” “Raw Intact” or “Raw Non-Intact” products, will now specify the species processed by an establishment — for example, “Ready-To-Eat Chicken” products, “Not Ready-To-Eat Beef” products or “Raw Intact Turkey.”

The updates also will allow users to easily filter establishments by more specific slaughter and processing activities on the MPI Directory Dashboard.

FSIS will continue to provide the MPI Directory file in a PDF format. The MPI Directory and MPI Supplement datasets will also be available in an open, nonproprietary, publicly accessible CSV format consistent with requirements set by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. Additional information is available on the FSIS Laboratory Sampling Data web page.

Prior to publishing the updated datasets, FSIS is seeking comments on sample datasets and data documentation until Feb. 16, 2024. To comment, visit Regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting comments to Docket FSIS-2014-0032 for the sample datasets and documentation. Please note that Regulations.gov does not support CSV files — however, CSV versions are accessible on the FSIS website.

Source: USDA's FSIS