USDA To Implement Risk-Based Inspection At Plants
News Date February 26, 2007
USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond on February 22 announced a timetable for implementing a more robust risk-based inspection in processing plants. Beginning in April, Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) personnel will start performing food safety verification procedures based on risk in thirty prototype locations representing about 254 establishments.
The agency will be performing inspection tasks for the first time based on an objective measurement of a plant's inspection track record and the relative risk of what is produced. FSIS intends to better utilize the information regularly collected by inspection personnel at processing plants to improve food safety. By taking into account the relative risk of what each processing plant produces and how each plant is controlling risk in its operations, FSIS will more effectively allocate inspection resources to those processing plants needing it the most, while continuing daily inspection at all processing facilities. The level of inspection at a processing plant will be based on a number of objective factors such as public health related inspection noncompliances and FSIS microbiological testing results and will be updated each month so that inspection resources can be adjusted as conditions change.
Raymond said that gradually implementing risk-based inspection will ensure that all aspects of the program can be thoroughly evaluated and revised as needed before it is expanded nationwide. The program could potentially expand to approximately 150 locations by the end of 2007. Additional information is available on the FSIS website at http://www.fsis.usda.gov. (Contact: Charlie Ingram)