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FSIS Enacts Interim Actions to Prevent Inhumane Treatment

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

In response to the violation of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act by the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co., which led to the largest beef recall in United States history, FSIS has implemented new interim actions to address issues pertaining to humane handling at slaughterhouses.  All establishments that are inspected by FSIS will be affected by the following actions by FSIS:

• Increase the amount of time allocated per shift by inspection program personnel to verify humane handling activities and to verify humane handling in the ante-mortem areas.
• Conduct surveillance activities to observe the handling of animals outside the approved hours of operation from vantage points within and adjacent to the official premises.
• Issue a notice to FSIS inspection personnel to reinforce the work methods for conducting humane handling verification activities at all levels and to ensure the greatest utility of the Humane Activities Tracking System (HATS) program.

Using a variety of criteria, FSIS will prioritize surveillance levels at establishments and will focus on establishments where older and distressed animals are slaughtered.  The HATS system will continue to be used to address humane handling issues at establishments and FSIS will also review the system to see if any changes need to be made. The goal is that increased inspection and doing more with the HATS system will prevent the inhumane handling of animals at slaughterhouses, protecting the nation’s food supply, and also saving the beef industry money from having to put out wide-scale recalls.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on March 07, 2008 (boomark / email).