 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FSIS Celebrates 100 Years of the Federal Meat Inspection Act
FSIS celebrated 100 years of protecting consumers this week by commemorating the Centennial Anniversary of the signing
of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA). On June 30, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the FMIA into law,
requiring that meat products be inspected and that federally inspected slaughterhouses and processing plants operate
under sanitary conditions.
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner and Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond participated in a
ceremony held on the patio of USDA's Jamie Whitten Federal Building, which also featured remarks by FSIS Administrator
Dr. Barbara Masters. Anthony Arthur, the author of a recently released biography of Upton Sinclair, whose book,
The Jungle, is credited with spurring passage of the FMIA was the key note speaker.
The centennial celebration featured a documentary video chronicling the history of meat inspection and food safety. The
video incorporated historic photographs and artifacts, as well as footage from the Johnson and Eisenhower administrations,
in telling the colorful and historically significant history of U.S. meat inspection and food safety from 1906 through
the present day.
FSIS has also honored the centennial anniversary of the FMIA with a Web page dedicated to the people and complex history
of inspection. The people, the policies and the evolution of FSIS' authorities, and its relationship to other Agencies
within USDA, are detailed in an entertaining format. The Web page can be found at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/
100_Years/.
Technical Service Center Serves Small and Very Small Plant Owner Needs
As part of FSIS' actions to implement the strategic implementation plan to enhance outreach to small and very small
plants, the agency's Technical Service Center (TSC) has formed a working group to serve the needs of small and very small
plants.
The TSC working group responds to calls, faxes and emails from small and very small plant owners and operators. The
working group is coordinating with FSIS' strategic initiatives partnerships and outreach staff to provide the owners
and operators with coordinated, one-stop service for obtaining consistent information, technical assistance and answers,
in order to enhance regulatory compliance and promote food safety and food defense.
The group will offer a customer-oriented service that is fully accessible. The staff is presently compiling questions
from emails, phone calls and joint outreach sessions. Answers will be developed and posted on FSIS' Web site for all
small and very small plants to view.
Bobby Palesano, deputy executive associate of FSIS' Office of Policy, Program, and Employee Development and manager of
the TSC working group, said, "The outreach staff is excited about the opportunity to serve the needs of the small
and very small plants and to establish new partners."
If you have questions or comments, contact the working group at 1-800-233-3935 or by e-mail at TechCenter@fsis.usda.gov
and put the term "outreach" as the subject of the e-mail.
FSIS to Hold Outreach Session for Small and Very Small Plants in St. Louis, Missouri
FSIS will hold an outreach session for small and very small plant owners and operators on Wednesday, July 12 in St. Louis, MO.
The session will cover a regulatory walk-through of the Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Point, and Rules of Practice regulations.
The outreach session will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Hilton St. Louis Downtown, 400 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63102.
For more information about the regulatory walk through sessions on the small and very small plant outreach, visit FSIS'
Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov/Science/
Small_Very_Small_Plant_Outreach/index.asp.
FSIS to Issue Directives and Notices
FSIS publishes directives and notices to enable the agency to carry out its mission of protecting public health. Within
the next month, FSIS expects to issue the following directives and notices:
Directives
- 5420.1, Revision 3 - Food Defense Verification Procedures. This directive is being revised to combine and streamline some of the activities inspectors perform related to food defense.
- 5420.4, Revision 3 - OIA Food Defense Verification Procedures. This directive is being revised to make activities import inspectors perform consistent with those that in-plant inspectors perform.
- 5500.2, Revision 1 - Non-Routine Incident Response. This directive is being revised to update information about the Emergency Management Committee and to include instructions for completing a non-routine incident report.
- 6000.1, Foreign Animal Diseases. This directive provides Public Health Veterinarians (PHVs) instructions to follow when they suspect that animals may have foreign animal diseases or when PHVs observe symptoms of disease or other reportable conditions. This directive is being revised to update the lists of reportable diseases and add Lagomorph (rabbits) diseases.
- 7000.1, Verification of Non-Food Safety Consumer Protection Regulatory Requirements. This directive provides updated instructions for verifying compliance with the regulatory requirements designed to provide consumer protections other than food safety. This directive also issues new Inspection System Procedures (ISP) for all the 04 and 05B procedures.
- 10,220.3, Use of FAST to Detect Residues. This directive addresses the use the FAST test. This notice provides inspection program personnel with instructions on how they will receive results in the LEARN system for Salmonella sampling in slaughter and processing establishments and how inspection program personnel may record establishment e-mail addresses into the Performance Based Inspection System (PBIS) profile so that establishments may receive the results directly.
Notices
- Photographs of Screening Results. This notice announces that inspection program personnel can take digital photographs of a FAST or STOP test result and e-mail it to public health veterinarians for them to read. This process will help FSIS use its resources and further its public health goals.
- Nationwide Young Chicken Microbiological Baseline Data Collection Program. This notice provides information to inspection program personnel at establishments participating in FSIS' Nationwide Microbiological Baseline Data Collection Program for Young Chickens.
- Information Gathering During a Non-Routine Incident. This notice announces that agency personnel may be collecting information about the operational status of facilities during a non-routine incident (e.g., a hurricane).
- Inspection of Ox Tails. This notice is being issued to reiterate to inspection program personnel that they are to inspect ox tails at all establishments where ox tails are processed. The notice also provides clarification on how inspection program personnel may perform the inspection of ox tails.
Export Requirement Updates
The Library of Export Requirements has been updated to reflect changes in export requirements for the following:
Complete information can be found at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/
Export_Information/index.asp.
FSIS Issues Notice on Reporting of Salmonella Sampling Results
FSIS issued Notice 36-06 on June 29, titled, Reporting of Salmonella Sampling Results.
This notice provides inspection program personnel with information on how to receive results in the LEARN system for
Salmonella sampling in slaughter and processing establishments.
The Notice also informs inspection program personnel on how they may record establishment email addresses into the
Performance Based Inspection System (PBIS) profile so establishments can receive results directly.
Notice 36-06 is available on FSIS' Web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISNotices/36-06.pdf (PDF Only).
Export Tip of the Week
Since the finding of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United States, FSIS has implemented various controls and
procedures to assure that the U.S. beef supply is safe. Still, many importing countries continue to impose additional
restrictions on U.S. beef products and this has resulted in increasingly complex certification requirements.
Regardless of the complexity, the requirements of the importing country must be respected. It is important that certifying
inspection officials consult the country requirements on FSIS' Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/
regulations_&_policies/export_information
for the most current information regarding product eligibility and certification requirements for any given country.
This information should be used to assure that only eligible products are certified for export and, if the product is
eligible, that the issued certification is current and correct. Questions regarding export certification can be directed
to the Office of International Affairs at (202) 720-3473.
|
Last Modified:
June 23, 2006 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
To view PDF files you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
