Ensuring Meat and Poultry Safety and Humane Slaughter of Livestock

USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for enforcing safety laws and regulations for meat and poultry, as well as the rules that prohibit the inhumane slaughtering of livestock. More than 150 million cattle, sheep, hogs, and other animals ultimately destined to provide meat for human consumption were slaughtered in fiscal year 2008 at some 800 federally inspected slaughter facilities throughout the United States. Our work on USDA's oversight of meat and poultry safety and the humane slaughter of livestock has shown the following:

• USDA was not adequately recording instances of noncompliance with the humane slaughter rules in 2004 and, thus, could not assure Congress that it was fully enforcing those rules.

  Highlights of GAO-08-686T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-04-247 (PDF)

• FSIS's budget has increased since 1997, but staffing levels have been declining for more than a decade; some USDA district offices have experienced high vacancy rates among inspectors, possibly impairing FSIS's ability to enforce food safety and humane slaughter rules.

  Highlights of GAO-08-686T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-07-449T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-08-794 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-05-213 (PDF)

• While the number of recalls has declined in recent years, there has been an increase in the quantity of contaminated meat and poultry recalled by the food industry—a trend that suggests weaknesses in the quality of firms' food safety plans and the urgent need for FSIS to assess those plans.

  Highlights of GAO-08-794 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-05-213 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-05-51 (PDF)

USDA's FSIS is one of 15 agencies that collectively administer at least 30 food-related laws. This fragmented system is the key reason GAO added the federal oversight of food safety to its high-risk list in 2007.

Highlights of GAO-09-271 (PDF)

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

USDA has acted on many of our recommendations for promoting the safety of meat and poultry, and the executive branch has established a Food Safety Working Group co-chaired by the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. Nonetheless, to help address systemic problems with the nation's food safety system, Congress should consider enacting comprehensive uniform and risk-based food safety legislation and analyzing alternative organizational food safety structures.

Highlights of GAO-07-449T (PDF)

^ Back to topKey Reports

Humane Methods of Slaughter Act

Food Safety

Humane Methods of Handling and Slaughter

Federal Oversight of Food Safety

Oversight of Food Safety Activities

More Reports