WASHINGTON—A National Turkey Federation (NTF) official told a congressional subcommittee April 23 that USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has made significant strides since the implementation of the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation in 1997.
“HACCP is arguably one of the most advanced, science-based food inspection programs in the world and has supported the improved safety of the meat and poultry products produced in the United States,” said Dr. Michael Rybolt, NTF director of scientific and regulatory affairs, in testimony before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry. “Any changes to the existing statute should be done with a scalpel, not an axe, to ensure that the current level of inspection is not compromised.”
Rybolt told subcommittee members that as part of HACCP, FSIS mandates pathogen performance standards for each product class and conducts product sampling and microbiological testing to ensure that establishments are meeting these standards. Since 1998, the incidence of Salmonella on meat and poultry products has dropped significantly. Virtually all product classes subjected to FSIS’ Salmonella verification testing are at or below half of their respective performance standards.
Rybolt cautioned that any legislative changes to the meat and poultry inspection laws should take into consideration that food-safety processes and technologies will continue to advance in the future.
“Changes (to statute) should not be so prescriptive that they stifle innovation and prevent the Secretary of Agriculture from making modifications to the inspection process,” Rybolt said. “If 15 years from now a food-safety program more advanced than HACCP emerges, the secretary would be limited to either ignoring the advance or requiring the new program to be used in addition to HACCP.”
Rybolt said the turkey industry recognizes changes could be made to further enhance consumer protection.
“As the food-safety reform debate moves to the forefront of the congressional agenda, any changes that are enacted should ensure improvements will be garnered and a measurable public health outcome is achieved,” he said.