# Presentation: 028028

## USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service

- Past, Present and Future

- Presented for:	The Washington Internship for Native Students Program
- Presented by:	 Sibyl Wright
- 		Academic Outreach Coordinator, FSIS

## Background

- Congress passed three Acts to ensure
- products are safe, wholesome, and
- accurately labeled:

**I**.	Federal Meat Inspection Act
**II**.	Poultry Products Inspection Act
**III**.	Egg Products Inspection Act

## FSIS has broad statutory authority to regulate  meat, poultry, and egg products. 

**1906 **- Meat inspection

**1995** - Egg products inspection was transferred  to FSIS

**1957 **- Poultry inspection

## The agency also monitors products in 
storage, distribution, and retail channels.
Compliance actions are used to 
protect the public, which includes:

- storage, distribution, and retail channels.
- Compliance actions are used to
- protect the public, which includes:

- Voluntary product recalls
- Court-order seizures of products

- Administrative withdrawal of inspection

- Referral for criminal prosecution

## The agency also conducts:

- 2.  Voluntary reimbursed inspection for
- rabbits, other domestic food animals, bison
- and other exotic food animals.

- 1.  State programs for the inspection of meat
- and poultry products sold in intrastate
- commerce.

## FSIS relied heavily on organoleptic 
or visual inspection activities and 
prior approval of programs to ensure 
industry complied with federal 
requirements.

- FSIS relied heavily on organoleptic
- or visual inspection activities and
- prior approval of programs to ensure
- industry complied with federal
- requirements.

- Command and Control

## PRESENT

- Early 1990’s - Deadly E.coli incidence
- National response:

- President’s Food Safety Initiative
- New culture/New roles
- Adoption of HACCP inspection
- Farm to table strategy
- Food safety education programs

## “From the Hoof to the Plate in Navajo Land”

***Cooperators ***- FSIS, Navajo Nation (Dept. of
- Agriculture, Veterinary and Livestock
- Program), New Mexico Meat Inspection,
- New Mexico Livestock Board, Livestock
- Producers

- Promote quality animal meat products
- Pre/post slaughtering of Navajo lamb
- Economic development and meat safety

**Goals:**

## Cooperators: FSIS and other agencies, Montana State University, Montana Department of Livestock, and seven Tribal Colleges and Communities

- _“__Top Notch Food Safety”_

## Tribal Colleges and Communities:

- Blackfeet Community College and Reservation
- Dull Knife Memorial College/Northern Cheyenne Reservation
- Fort Belknap Community College and Reservation
- Fort Peck Community College and Reservation
- Little Big Horn Community College/Crow Reservation
- Salish Kootenai College/Flathead Reservation
- Stone Child Community College/Rocky Boy Reservation

## “Top Notch Food Safety”

- Building Tribal community capacity and partnerships
- Promoting the holistic “Farm to Fork” food safety approach
- Supporting value - added food production

**Goals:**

## Food Safety Habits:

- Prevent Time - Temperature Abuse
- Prevent Cross - Contamination
- Proper Personal Hygiene
- Proper Cleaning & Sanitizing

## “Honor the Gift of Food by Keeping It Safe”

***Cooperators:*** FSIS, FDA, FNS Southwest
- Regional Office, Food Distribution Program,
- Langston University and Indian Tribes

## “Honor the Gift of Food by Keeping It Safe”

- “_Honor the Gift of Food by Keeping It Safe”_

**Goal:**

- Topics:  Food Safety Begins at Home;
- Clean Hands-Cross Contamination; Cook-
- Proper Temperatures; Refrigeration and
- Thawing; and Food Labeling.

## “The Navajo Sheep Quality Assurance Program”

***Cooperators:*** FSIS, Langston University,
- New Mexico State University, and
- Crownpoint Institute of Technology

- Adoption of residue avoidance
- Adoption of pathogen reduction
- Recording keeping practices
- Biosecurity

**Goals:**

## FSIS’ Food Safety Virtual University

- Information on animal production food safety practices
- Participation is open to anyone who has an interest to learn more about food safety
- Easy downloading capacity

## FSIS Biosecurity Activities

- January 2002 - Defense Appropriations Act
- FSIS received $16.5 million:
- $10 million for Bioterrorism Protection Program
- $5 million for biosecurity at critical facilities
- $1.5 million to hire more inspectors

## F-BATFSIS’ Food Biosecurity Action Team

- Coordinates all activities pertaining to
- biosecurity, terrorism, and emergency
- preparedness.

- Ensure FSIS functions during emergencies
- Maintain employee safety
- Ensure effective communication channels

**Goals:**

- Profile of employees
- Recruitment
- Training and Education

- _Workforce Diversity_

## Future

- Food safety educational programs
- Increase diversity
- Extend HACCP Programs
- Biosecurity - Farm to Table
- Improve coordination with stakeholders
- Decision on inspection of exotic species

## Wrap-Up

*Review*
*Questions & Answers*
*Discussion*

## The End