March 27, 2000

 

USDA TO CUT FOOD INSPECTORS

 

by Alfred V. Krebs

 

At a time when more and more contamination seems to be appearing in the

country's food supply, the USDA, in a move clearly designed to save the

food industry money, has announced that it plans to cut back food

inspectors' visits to processing plants, saving on overtime pay and

eliminating 150 jobs.

 

By cutting USDA's 7,500-employee inspection force by 150 jobs, the change

would save the industry, which must cover the inspectors' overtime pay,

an estimated $9 million a year. The department would save $4 million in

personnel costs. "By having our resources allocated based on risk, the

public is well served," said Margaret Glavin, associate administrator of

the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

 

Critics, including the inspectors union, say the change will benefit the

industry while possibly endangering public health.

 

According to USDA, inspections would be reduced only at plants, such as

soup canneries, where the risk of contamination is small and "where doing

 so would allow money to be shifted to other meat and egg safety

programs," Agriculture Department officials claim.

 

Inspectors currently are required to visit each processing plant once a

shift, including overtime runs. The department wants to switch to daily,

random checks, starting in a year. Inspections would concentrate on

plants that have a history of problems or are considered to be riskier

because of what they process, such as ground beef, the most common source

of the deadly E. coli O157:H7.

 

Excerpted from: The AGRIBUSINESS  EXAMINER                                 Issue # 68

March 27, 2000

Monitoring Corporate Agribusiness From a Public Interest Perspective

A.V. Krebs, Editor\Publisher