USDA-FSIS issues a final rule eliminating the requirement for mandibular lymph node incision and viscera palpation in all swine slaughter establishments.
FSIS relocates approximately two-thirds of its National Capital Region workforce to locations including the newly created National Food Safety Center in Iowa and Science Center in Georgia.
Current size definitions, which are based on employee count and annual sales, date back to the 1996 Pathogen Reduction/HACCP Systems final rule and have remained largely unchanged since.
USDA-FSIS seeks stakeholder input on potentially updating size definitions to classify meat and poultry establishments as 'very small,' 'small' or 'large.'