Inspectors warn unsafe pork could make its way to consumers under Trump rule change
https://www.nbcnews.com/politi...umers-under-n1097676
Dec. 16, 2019, 9:28 AM CST / Updated Dec. 16, 2019, 11:50 AM CST
ALBERT LEA, Minnesota — America's food inspectors are warning that "unsafe" pork is likely making it to consumers under a change in rules for meat inspection.
That change is now set to roll out nationwide to plants that process more than 90 percent of the pork Americans eat.
"The consumer's being duped," Food Safety and Inspection Service inspector Jill Mauer told NBC News. "They believe that it actually is getting federally inspected when there's no one there to even watch or do anything about anything."
"It's so hard to go to work without feeling physically sick watching this just happen, unfolding in front of you," inspector Anthony Vallone said. "Especially since you took the oath to protect the American people."
Mauer and Vallone have both filed whistleblower disclosure forms with the Office of Special Counsel about their concerns, but this is the first time they’ve spoken publicly. NBC News has spoken to five inspectors in person, over the phone and via email about the pilot program, which eligible pork plants will soon be able to adopt under a change in U.S. Department of Agriculture rules known as the New Swine Inspection System.
In traditional plants, as many as seven federal inspectors work on the processing line, handling hog carcasses and checking for defects.
Under the new system, that number will be reduced to two or three federal inspectors who have more experience but who will have limited hands-on interaction with the carcasses.
Instead, the plant's own employees will be checking and sorting the hog carcasses and letting the federal inspectors, called consumer safety inspectors, check their work from a distance. There is no required federal training for those employees.
Finally, the federal limit on line speed — or the rate at which hog carcasses can be moved for processing and inspection — will be removed.
A pilot program for this process, known as HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project, or HIMP, is already in place at five pork processing plants across the country. All five of the Food Safety inspectors interviewed by NBC News have worked at these plants, and four other inspectors who've worked at those plants have expressed similar concerns in sworn affidavits sent to federal regulators.
"If this continues across the nation, when you open your package of meat, what you're gonna get for a pathogen is gonna be a mystery," Mauer said.
Potential defects, according to Mauer, include *****, sex organs, toenails, bladders and unwanted hair.
She and other inspectors claim plant employees with little experience or training are doing minimal checking and sorting in an effort to maintain line speeds and keep plant owners happy.
"They're doing the same job as we were doing in a traditional plant. And we're, you know, verifying them. You can't really see very much in that time. So there's a lot of contamination heading out the door," Vallone said.
The USDA disputes those assertions, insisting that USDA inspectors are free to stop or slow the line if they see any problems.
And the North American Meat Institute supports the rule change, arguing it will improve efficiency while ensuring a safe food supply.
"After more than 15 years of experience with the successful pilot program, NSIS, a voluntary system, still requires USDA inspectors to inspect every animal before harvest and every carcass after harvest to ensure the product is wholesome and USDA always has the authority to affect an establishment's linespeed," institute vice president of communications Sarah Little said.
