Food Safety and Quality: USDA Improves Inspection Program for Canadian Meat, but Some Concerns Remain

Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) procedures and practices for ensuring the wholesomeness of imported Canadian meat, focusing on: (1) Department of Agriculture (USDA) efforts to document that the Canadian meat inspection system is equivalent to the U.S. system; (2) analyzing inspection and rejection data for U.S. and Canadian meat crossing the border; and (3) alternative measures to strengthen USDA import inspection procedures for Canadian meat.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of Agriculture	The Secretary of Agriculture should seek a peer review of the equivalency determination process, including how best to assess foreign monitoring programs for animal drug residues, using FSIS review of the Canadian inspection systems as a test case.	Closed – Implemented Agriculture disagrees with the need for peer review. GAO believes that it is necessary to improve consumer confidence and avoid negative consequences of future food safety incidents involving imported meat. NAFTA implementation could raise more questions about foreign meat inspection systems and, in turn, support the concept of a peer review. The E-coli food poisoning outbreak that started in the western states and continued into 1994 supports the prediction that future food safety incidents could cause serious concern among consumers, which USDA could alleviate, to some extent, with a scientifically based peer review. No action is anticipated by USDA.
Department of Agriculture	The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure proper controls over meat imports before reinspection as FSIS implements destination inspection for Canadian meat.	Closed – Implemented FSIS has established a tracking system to control Canadian meat imports prior to reinspection at U.S. facilities.

Full Report

Full Report (34 pages)

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Agriculture and Food

Agricultural productsContaminated foodsCustoms administrationFood safetyForeign trade agreementsImport regulationInternational economic relationsInternational trade regulationMeat inspectionSafety regulationTrade policies