April 6, 2011

USDA proposes new "test and hold" policy change

The USDA is moving towards mandating a "test-and-hold" in the meat and poultry industry, a policy change aimed at reducing the amount of unsafe food that reaches grocery stores, the department said on Tuesday (Apr 5, 2011).

The proposed requirement would allow the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to hold meat and poultry products, keeping them out of commerce, until FSIS test results for harmful substances like pathogens or drug residues are received. The current policy does not require companies to hold onto products while test results are pending. According to the USDA, 44 Class I food recalls between 2007 and 2009 could have been prevented if companies had waited for test results.

Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and Under Secretary for Food Safety, Elisabeth Hagen, told reporters that while test-and-hold is already practiced by many of the big meat and poultry processors, the new policy could yield significant public health results.

The American Meat Institute, which petitioned FSIS to make test-and-hold mandatory in 2008, praised the decision. "We believe that this policy will prevent needless recalls, further ensure food safety, and maintain consumer confidence," AMI President, J. Patrick Boyle said.

"Meat and poultry products will be prevented from reaching consumers until our inspectors have the opportunity to thoroughly evaluate test results. This approach will help us enhance protection of the food supply, reduce recalls, and ensure that all consumers are getting the safest food possible," said Vilsack, adding that the move toward a new policy was part of a wider administration effort to focus on food safety reforms.

The policy change will have the biggest impact on small and medium-sized processors who may not be holding products and are waiting for FSIS results before shipping. According to Richard Raymond, who lead the FSIS under the Bush administration, his team did not pursue in making the policy mandatory partially because it was already widely in practice.

"This is an extremely small percentage of plants," Raymond said. "Ninety-percent of the meat we eat - the big five - they're doing this already. They're doing their own testing in addition to FSIS testing."

"It is an onerous issue for these very small plants," he added, calling the policy proposal a "political play" to reduce the number of embarrassing recalls.