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Import Volume Data – Data Documentation

Overview

These data represent the volume of imported meat, poultry, and egg products presented for 

reinspection to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) at port of entry. Federal law requires every 

commercial shipment of imported meat, poultry, and egg products to be inspected prior to product 

entering U.S. commerce. FSIS inspects each shipment to verify labeling, proper certification, general 

condition, any signs of tampering and to identify product adulterated by transportation damage. FSIS 

also performs additional activities on a random and/or for-cause basis such as physical product 

examination and laboratory sampling for pathogens and chemical residues. (See Notes and Limitations 

section for additional information.)

Depending on the report execution date and the ongoing reinspection process, the data are subject to 

change. To accommodate the changing nature of this data, there will be two data sets provided, 

archived and current. The current data set will include the prior fiscal year of data in addition to the 

current fiscal year up through the most recent completed quarter prior to the report execution date. 

The current dataset will be updated quarterly. The archived dataset will provide data starting from 

October 1, 2013 up through the month proceeding the first date available in the current data set. The 

archived data set will be updated annually.

Each row in this data set represents the net weight in pounds presented for reinspection to FSIS at port 

of entry for the specified year, month, country, process category, product category, slaughter class, and 

product group. 

Data Dictionary

• Year

o Definition: The year of the date the FSIS inspector received the shipment in the Public 

Health Inspection System (PHIS).

o The value is subject to change depending on the report execution date. Please see the 

Notes and Limitations section.

• Month

o Definition: The month of the date the FSIS inspector received the shipment in PHIS.

o The value is subject to change depending on the report execution date. Please see the 

Notes and Limitations section.

• Country

o Definition: The name of the country that issued the inspection certificate for the 

imported product on the FSIS 9540-1 Import Inspection Application.

• ProcessCategory
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o Definition: The nine process categories used for imported products. (See Notes and 

Limitations section.)

• ProductCategory

o Definition: Further describes process category to include slaughter class name. (See 

Notes and Limitations section.)

• SlaughterClass

o Definition: The name of the predominant slaughter class in the product. (See Notes and 

Limitations section.)

• ProductGroup

o Definition: Further describes the product down to the finished product information.

(See Notes and Limitations section.)

• NetWeightPresented

o Definition: The net weight of lot in pounds presented for reinspection to FSIS at port of 

entry. 

Relationship to Other Data

These data can be combined with other FSIS datasets using the country, process category, product 

category, slaughter class, and product group variables. However, you must aggregate the other FSIS 

datasets to the year and month based on the ReceivedLotDate variable. Also, slaughter class may be 

referred to as species in other FSIS datasets. 

Notes and Limitations

This dataset is in response to the demand for easier access to information that is frequently requested 

under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA.) Please visit the FSIS website for more information on 

available datasets and the Establishment-Specific Data Release Strategic Plan.

(https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/data-collection-and-reports/data)

Information about the FSIS Product Categorization can be found on the FSIS website. Slaughter Class is 

equivalent to Species in the FSIS Product Categorization. 

(https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/abbf595d-7fc7-4170-b7be-37f812882388/ProductCategorization.pdf?MOD=AJPERES)

Year and month variables are based on the ReceivedLotDate data in PHIS which are as of the report 

execution date. These data are subject to change whenever an FSIS inspector re-receives the lot. This 

may occur if the inspector re-opens the application. 

Prior Analysis

These data provide a variety of variables that can be used in analysis; however, this dataset, as a whole, 

has not been previously used for analysis.