New Policy Would Require Withholding Of Food Products Pending Test Results

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing that its Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) be allowed to withhold meat and poultry products from the market until FSIS test results for harmful substances are received. According to the USDA, if the new requirement is enacted, the amount of unsafe food that reaches store shelves – and the number of food recalls – will be reduced. Currently, FSIS can request – but not require – that tested product samples be held until test results are available. FSIS inspects billions of pounds of meat, poultry and processed egg products annually and believes that 44 of the most serious recalls between 2007 and 2009 could have been prevented had the proposed procedure been in place.