Institute for Food Laws and Regulations

Scott Haskell teaches the online course “Animal Health, World Trade, and Food Safety” for Michigan State University’s Institute for Food Laws and Regulations. The course is offered each year in the fall semester.

While the Covid-19 pandemic continues out of control and endangering more lives, reducing our critical resources throughout the U.S. and the global community, the federal government has been rolling back food safety regulations, diminishing processing safety requirements, and canceling or decreasing food and processing plant inspections. These food regulations are in place for a reason: food safety that we all have relied upon. Additionally, the U.S. food supply is a global supply: more than 50% of our fruits and roughly 30% of our vegetables are imported into our domestic marketplace. Many of our global trading partners have a less robust food safety system which may disrupt trade and commerce during these trying times. The strain of the Covid-19 pandemic is being felt within global food systems and may eventually reduce safety requirements for both food and line processors.

Federal governmental changes may significantly impact our nation’s food processing system. It is important to note that the federal government during this Covid-19 pandemic has had numerous challenges facing food safety. Handling these immediate issues has proven difficult for all concerned. The government has rolled back extremely critical food and on-farm production safety rules within the last year. As such, the FDA, the EPA and the USDA have slackened rulings on inspection, food safety rules, industrial pollution and enforcement freezes. These changes risk the possibility of affecting our domestic food safety, processor safety as well as our global trade abilities. For instance, food product sampling has decreased substantially. PulseNet activity has shown to be reduced with a decline of 50% in E. coli sampling and a 25% reduction in Salmonella spp. cases entered into PulseNet in 2020 (compared to five-year PulseNet averages). PulseNet International is a network of national and regional laboratory networks dedicated to tracking foodborne infections world-wide. Each laboratory utilizes standardized genotyping methods, sharing information in real-time. The resulting surveillance provides early warning of food and waterborne disease outbreaks, emerging pathogens, and acts of bioterrorism (CDC PulseNet, 2020). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has noted that prescribed targets to reduce salmonella disease outbreaks have been missed due to these extremely critical food and on-farm production rules changes. There has been a rise of 9% in the salmonella incidence rate over the last three years (CDC, 2019). The federal administration has in some cases, stepped away from its responsibilities/obligations and may empower regulated industries to take charge.

Food safety inspector numbers are an additional issue. The USDA feels that they have adequate food safety inspectors to cover the needed inspections within all processing facilities. Recent changes have been made to ‘line processing speed’ within poultry, beef and pork processing plants that may counter safe meat processing practices. Processing speeds have been increased beyond what was previously regarded as safe. The USDA has recently issued an unprecedented increase in the number of “line speed waivers” given to poultry processing facilities. The move will allow these processing plants to slaughter as many as 175 birds per minute – this is the equivalent of 3 birds per second. These ‘line speed’ waivers allow poultry processing plants to now operate at much higher speeds with fewer inspectors. In April of 2020, the USDA granted 15 poultry plants these ‘line speed’ waivers which will increase the previous standard acceptable production speeds with fewer USDA inspectors being found onsite for carcass inspections. Previous federal poultry processing rules included line speeds of 140 birds per minute. Additionally, the FSIS also required at least four inspectors to be stationed on each processing line. That has since been reduced to one inspector per line, with these regulatory waivers.

These increased processing speeds may endanger line processors health and diminish food safety. According to the FSIS: “The agency’s decisions [on granting line speed waiver requests] are based on data gathered under the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)-based Inspection Models Project (HIMP) pilot study. The 20-year pilot showed that online inspectors in HIMP young chicken establishments were able to conduct an effective online inspection of each carcass when operating at a line speed of up to 175 bpm and that HIMP establishments were able to control for pathogens at the line speeds authorized under HIMP.” Poultry workers are at a high risk for experiencing work-related injuries on the job. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported in 2015, that poultry workers suffer serious injuries at double the rate of private industry and that poultry workers are more than six times as likely to have a work-related illness. (OSHA, 2015)

The FDA has modified significant food safety metrics as well. Beginning in March 2020, the agency loosened the rules and restrictions concerning the food safety requirements of consumer-grade eggs.  The FDA is requiring poultry feed companies to self-audit producer’s food safety feeding practices at ingredient suppliers without the much needed oversight. FDA requirements now require poultry food supplement manufacturers to self-report “adverse events” with the use of their products. In March 2020 the Food and Drug Administration announced it would postpone in-person inspections of the nation’s poultry farms, processing plants, and canneries. The number of FDA inspections dropped from 900 per month to eight in April 2020. This same month, the FDA violations/citations issued for unsafe conditions fell from several hundred per month to essentially zero. 

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal government is rapidly accelerating controversial regulatory changes and rollbacks. As food processing companies express major concerns at the impact of Covid-19 on their production operations, federal changes are being made that potentially affect food safety. It is apparent that safeguard systems have been overwhelmed, but reducing the key inspection components is not the effective way to handle pandemic induced industry stress. Food safety is a right not a privilege.  

Disclaimer.

References:

1. Federal Register Volume 83, Number 189 September 28, 2018https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/5bd6c2c0-5e37-4397-9ed4-2468c2168557/2018-0014.htm?MOD=AJPERES  
2. Preliminary Incidence and Trends of Infections with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food — Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2015–2018. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly / April 26, 2019 /  68(16);369–373 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6816a2.htm?s_cid=mm6816a2_x 
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- PulseNet https://www.cdc.gov/pulsenet/index.html
4. OSHA: Inspection Guidance for Poultry Slaughtering and Poultry Processing Establishments https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2015-10-28