AFGE, Food Safety Groups Urge Congress to Reject Poultry Inspection Outsourcing Plan

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.afge.org/?PressReleaseID=1583

USDA cost-cutting plan would turn over inspections to poultry processors, increase risk of foodborne illnesses

WASHINGTON – The American Federation of Government Employees has joined with food and worker safety groups in calling on Congress to reject a budget proposal from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to implement a new poultry inspection system during FY 2014. AFGE and the other groups also are urging Congress to restore the $11.73 million budget cut that would eliminate FSIS inspector positions.

AFGE and other members of the Safe Food Coalition and Worker Health and Safety Coalition sent a letter to the heads of the agriculture appropriations subcommittees in the House and Senate on Jan. 6, urging them to remove report language endorsing the poultry inspection overhaul and restore the funding for FSIS inspectors.

“USDA’s poultry inspection system does need to be modernized, but this proposal raises serious food safety and worker safety concerns,” the letter states. The letter was sent to Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Roy Blunt of Missouri and Reps. Robert Aderholt of Alabama and Sam Farr of California.

The USDA proposal, which was proposed nearly two years ago, would remove most federal inspectors from the slaughter line and turn over inspection activities currently performed by federal inspectors to untrained plant employees. The proposal also would allow plants to increase their line speeds up to 175 chicken carcasses per minute, meaning that the lone remaining federal inspector on the slaughter line will have one-third of one second to examine each chicken carcass for disease, infection and contamination.

FULL story at link.