ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
SPECIAL REPORT
Federal Meat and Poultry Inspection Duties and Requirements—Part 3: Monitoring of Food Safety Systems
Roger W. Amery, CP-FS
mance standards (SPS), both on the slaugh- ter floor and during fabrication.
/@A?.0A This 4-part series aims to inform environmental health specialists of the duties and requirements for federal meat and poultry inspectors and the companies they regulate. Part 1 provided general attributes of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service inspection personnel and regulated companies (Amery, 2023a). Part 2 covered the computer-based system used to communicate results of inspection tasks, the marks of inspection, and slaughter inspection duties and company responsibilities (Amery, 2023b). Part 3 will cover the duties performed by consumer safety inspectors who monitor food safety systems. These duties include monitoring of Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) procedures, reinspection, labeling issues, and company allergen controls. The remaining part of the series will be presented in a subsequent issue.
Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures
Each company is required to have a written SSOP plan. This plan describes how the com- pany will prevent contamination of products and food-contact surfaces on which meat and poultry products are processed and packaged before (preoperational sanitation, or pre-op for short), during (operational sanitation), and after production. Each company is to generate records docu- menting implementation of SSOPs and nec- essary corrective actions. Corrective actions are to include disposition of contaminated product, restoration to sanitary conditions, and prevention of recurrence. The company is to routinely reevaluate the SSOP plan to determine eectiveness. FSIS inspectors monitor the activities of the companies implementing their SSOP plan by observing the company personnel as they perform their duties and by checking compa- ny records. When scheduled—or whenever deemed necessary—FSIS inspectors perform a pre-op inspection, after the company has completed its own pre-op procedures, to de- termine company eectiveness in preventing product contamination. During operations, CSIs determine if company implementation of the SSOP plan is eective and if the cho- sen frequency of company inspection is su- cient in preventing contamination of product (Sanitation, 2023a).
Introduction and Overview Consumer safety inspectors (CSIs) are respon- sible, as their title suggests, for ensuring that food is safe for consumption. Their responsi- bilities include general sanitation issues as well as food safety in fabrication (i.e., processing) o the slaughter lines. CSIs inspect facilities for evidence of pests, segregation of inedible foods from edible foods, water purity, ventila- tion control, and warehousing procedures. To ensure that food is safe for consump- tion, companies are required to have two sets of written procedures: 1) Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs) and 2) hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) pro- cedures. SSOPs detail how the companies will prevent contamination of foods and direct food-contact surfaces and then what actions will be taken to bring the company into com- pliance if contamination does occur. HACCP
procedures identify potential product hazards if control measures are not in place. In both cases, CSIs observe the activities and review the generated records to deter- mine company compliance. Reinspections are performed daily to ensure quality and public health. Labels are checked for deceit so that consumers are truthfully informed about ingredients, such as allergens present in products. Fabrication After slaughter (online) inspection—while still on the slaughter floor and continuing during fabrication (processing)—Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspectors within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conduct o-line inspections. Inspec- tions by CSIs monitor the company SSOPs, HACCP procedures, and sanitation perfor-
General Sanitation Performance Standards
It is the responsibility of companies to pro- duce safe and wholesome meat and poul-
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