The new system, for the first time, put the primary responsibility for food safety on the plant workers and managers and placed USDA inspectors in a backup, spot-checking role. Before, USDA had the primary responsibility for food safety checks. The USDA was hoping that the plant would take on greater responsibility for preventing and catching problems that could jeopardize food safety. It was all supposed to make America's meat plants safer. A MIchigan meat plant struggles with santiation.
Listeriosis outbreak begins in Tennessee, Ohio, New York and Connecticut.
Sara Lee starts damage control while the USDA still sits on the fence. A consumer hot line leaves callers cold. Enter the lawyers. Far from it. The government must put the public before the industry.