WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is overhauling poultry plant inspections for the first time in more than 50 years, a move it says could result in 5,000 fewer foodborne illnesses each year.
Final rules announced Thursday would reduce the number of government poultry inspectors by around a fourth. But those who remain will focus more on food safety than on quality, requiring them to pull more birds off the line for closer inspections and encouraging more testing for pathogens. There would also be more inspectors checking the facilities to make sure they are clean.
The changes would be voluntary, but many of the country’s largest poultry companies are expected to opt in.
Federal law requires that government inspectors be present in poultry processing plants. Right now, many USDA inspectors stand in one place on the production line and check for visual defects. This doesn’t do much to ensure the birds are safe to eat, since common poultry pathogens like salmonella and campylobacter are invisible. The new rules would better train inspectors to find hazards in the plant and would also require the companies to do more testing for pathogens.
USDA originally proposed the rule in January 2012, saying the reduction in inspectors would save companies and taxpayers money while also decreasing pathogens in the food supply. Consumer groups have said an overhaul is necessary but criticized that proposal, saying it would shift too much of the inspection burden to the industry.