In a blog that was published on Friday, April 13 on the Huffington Post, FSIS Administrator Alfred Almanza attempted to clarify some of the misconceptions behind the agency's proposed chicken inspection changes.
The focus by most of us this year has been on implementation of the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) non-O157 STEC sampling, currently scheduled to begin for beef trim on June 4th.
In my column last month (“USDA policies drag down processors who ‘test and find’, The National Provisioner, March 2012), I discussed how current FSIS policy (which invariably reacts critically to any positive testing results) discourages companies from aggressively testing to find pathogens in their products.
Taylor Farms New Jersey, Inc. a Swedesboro, N.J., establishment is recalling approximately 187 pounds of chicken products because of misbranding and undeclared allergens.
Eddy Packing Co., Inc., a Yoakum, Texas, establishment is recalling approximately 26,136 pounds of chicken apple sausage products that may contain foreign materials.
The Chili Station, a Ludlow, Mass. establishment, is recalling approximately 3,800 pounds of chili products because they may have been produced without the benefit of federal inspection.
On March 5, 2012, the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) adulteration decision on the top six non-O157 STECs (pathogenic STEC, or pSTEC) is due to become effective for raw, non-intact beef products made from cattle slaughtered on or after that date.
