United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Public Health Information System

(PHIS)

An Overview for Stakeholders

Revised September 3, 2010
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS and Domestic Inspection

Judith Riggins

Deputy Assistant Administrator

Office of Field Operations
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

 OIG December 2007 audit identified 35 needed 

improvements to the FSIS data infrastructure.

 OIG approved FSIS’ responses to all 35 

recommendations.

 A public health-based, data-driven approach to 

improving processing and slaughter inspection. 

 The Agency is developing a dynamic, integrated 

infrastructure to support a comprehensive, timely and 

reliable data-driven inspection system.

FSIS Inspection and Data Infrastructure 

Improvements
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

OIG Recommendations

 Develop strong scientific and statistical basis for resource 

allocation

 Undertake third party review of Agency programs 

 Prioritize food safety assessments (FSAs) and utilize their 

findings to inform resource allocation

 Conduct in-depth review of data systems and develop an 

integrated data infrastructure

 Consistently produce data reports to inform decision makers
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS Overview

 Automates and replaces many of FSIS’ existing systems, 

such as PBIS, RIS and AIIS.

 Integrates these separate and disparate systems into one 

comprehensive data-driven, easy-to-use data-analytics 

system.

 Will facilitate sharing of data among inspection personnel, 

their managers and headquarters on a daily basis.

 Powerful decisionmaking tool that will enable FSIS to protect 

public health more efficiently, effectively and rapidly than 

under existing systems.

 PHIS will operate through the interaction of four 

components: domestic inspection, import activities, export 

activities and predictive analytics.
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Four Components of PHIS

 Domestic Inspection

 Enhanced establishment and inspection data (e.g., establishment profile 

information, in-plant verification activities, and food safety assessments)

 Data-driven inspection activities and food safety assessments

 Import Activities

 Data-driven foreign country audits and point-of-entry (POE) inspection activities

 Automation of import application process

 Receipt of electronic foreign health certificates for advanced notice of incoming 

shipments

 Export Activities 

 Automation of export certification process

 PHIS will ensure certificates accurately reflect foreign country import requirements. 

 Predictive Analytics

 Alerts, reports and data-mining tools to better inform decisionmakers

 Automated scheduling of inspection tasks and responses to threats to public health
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Inspection Procedures

Basically the same as in the existing PBIS system, 

but with a few changes

 Includes separate tasks for zero-tolerance checks 

 Combines the HACCP 01 and 02 procedures into 

HACCP tasks that are more like the existing HACCP 02

procedures

 Added the hazard analysis verification (HAV) procedure

CSIs are to verify that an establishment meets the regulatory 

requirements for the hazard analysis by performing a hazard 

analysis verification (HAV) procedure.
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Inspection Procedures

Does not create any new requirements or 

regulations on establishments for domestic 

inspection
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Documentation of Inspection Procedures

Documentation of procedures by inspection personnel will 

differ under PHIS:

Document specific regulations verified, via drop-down 

menu, and the findings

Document additional information for some procedures 

Be able to document a memorandum of interview 

(MOI) or their notes from meeting with plant 

management 
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS and Import Activities

Mary Stanley

Director, International Policy Division

Office of Policy and Program Development

Jerry Elliott

Director, Import Inspection Division

Office of International Affairs
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Import Activities

 Advance Notification of Shipments

Electronic certification (eCert) from foreign countries

Electronic application by importer of record, broker 

and agent 

Interim solution until the Custom and Border 

Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment 

(ACE) system is able to interface with PHIS

 Enhances Shipment Tracking

Alerts when shipments “fail to present” for inspection

Automates refused-entry disposition decisions and 

tracking system
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Import Activities

Incorporates all point-of-entry reinspection 

activities

Integrates shell eggs and egg products (“Shell 

eggs” includes those for breaking that go directly to 

the FSIS-regulated breaking plant and shell eggs 

for the consumer, verifying that “keep refrigerated” 

label is along with certificate attestations.)

Automates “increased” level of inspection 

Improves targeting appropriate type of inspection to 

specific products

Enables record of inspection results
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Import Activities

 Aligns import and domestic programs 

Applies same tasks/management for SPS, SSOP, 

food defense

Harmonized product classification 

 HACCP process categories; finished product categories

Same process for NRs, appeals, MOI, etc.

Same process for official import establishment profile

Enables OIA use of Resource Management functions
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Import Activities

 Enhanced external communication

 Direct notification of rejected product to other agencies 

(e.g., APHIS, CBP)

 Direct notification to competent authorities of foreign 

countries

 Direct communication with importers of record, brokers 

and agents

 Automates foreign country audit processes

 Improves linkage between previous audit findings, 

results at port-of-entry reinspection and other data used 

in analysis, planning and scheduling of foreign country 

audits
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS and Export Activities

Rick Harries

Director, Export Programs Division

Office of International Affairs
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Manual

Paper-based

FSIS inspection personnel verify requirements

Data is not readily available 

Existing Export Certification System 
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS Export Certification System

 Automates paper-based processes for forms:

9080-3, Establishment Approval

9060-6, Application for Export Certificate

9010-1, Return of U.S. Exported Products 

 Ensures certificates reflect importing country 

requirements

 Improves use of resources
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Export Library in PHIS

 Automates establishment/product eligibility

Export Library Validation Service (ELVS)

 Automates selection of export certificate 

statements

 Provides checklists for requirements that 

inspection personnel must verify
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Export Product Lists

 Provides details about products each 

establishment exports

 Used by the Export Library Validation Service

 Differs from the product category on approved 

plant lists:

Goes into greater detail than species level

Does not specify lists per importing country

 AMS approves or denies inclusion of product list 

items in EV programs
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Exporter/Processor Access to PHIS

 Processors maintain a product list in PHIS that 

the Export Library Validation Service uses to 

determine product eligibility.

 Exporters can submit export applications:

individually through a web-based interface and

in batches through a computer-to-computer 

interface.

 Exporters can manage export applications in 

PHIS.
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Export Certificates in PHIS 

 Paper certificates printed on security paper

 USDA/AMS eTDE (electronic Trade Document 

Exchange) certificate image 

 eCert developed by UN/CEFACT- certificate 

data exchange by secure internet protocols.
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Predictive Analytics

Dorothy L. Andrews

Branch Chief, Field Operation Analysis Branch

Office of Data Integration and Food Protection
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

What YOU do matters!
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

How will Predictive Analytics Support a 

Data-Driven Approach to Inspections?

Domestic Inspection System
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

How will Predictive Analytics Support a 

Data-Driven Approach to Inspections?

Import Inspection System
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Concurrent Data Mining and Analysis

 Integrate data streams and provide data reporting and 

visualization tools 

 Perform real-time data mining and send alerts when 

irregularities are detected.

 Automated scheduling rules will provide quicker response time 

when reacting to events and performing follow-up tasks

 Public health-based prompts triggers hazard analysis 

verification (HAV) activities

 Analysts will be able to carry out spontaneous data analyses 

using multiple data sources
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS Training

Stephanie Wilkins

Acting Assistant Administrator

Office of Outreach, Employee Education 

and Training (OOEET)
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS Training for FSIS

Training approach:

Inspection personnel and supervisors will be 

trained together

Training will have numerous workshops and 

exercises to reinforce learning

Integration of policy and “click-by-click” training

Throughout, an emphasis on gathering and 

assessing information, determining 

compliance/noncompliance, documentation 

(including MOIs) and enforcement
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS Training for FSIS

 Proposed training content:

Introduction to PHIS (reasons for PHIS, anticipated 

public health benefit)

Overview of PHIS (Domestic, Export, Import, 

Predictive Analytics; comparison between PHIS and 

PBIS)

Overview of policy changes (updated directives, 

tasks, HAV)

“Click by click” in PHIS (by contractor) including a 

review of Home Page, Plant Profile, Tasks, Task 

Calendar, Documenting Results

Basic steps of HAV
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS Training for FSIS

Proposed training content (cont’d):

Hazard analysis exercise (includes a review 

of the Hazards Control Guide)

Verifying plant’s flow chart

Verifying plant’s support for hazard analysis

Verifying plant’s prerequisite programs and 

control programs related to food safety

Review of basic micro principles

Exports, eADRS, STEPS, HATS in PHIS
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

PHIS Training for FSIS

 Training logistics:

Training is estimated to take 2 weeks 

(including travel time)

 Training evaluation:

Pre- and post-training will be conducted as a 

measure of training effectiveness
United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Outreach to Industry

Webinars offered for applicants for import and 

export

Informational mailings

Presentations

More under development

FSIS website: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PHIS