Inspection Activities of the Food Safety and Inspection Service

GAO discussed the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) productivity and quality management in its poultry inspection functions, focusing on FSIS assessment of: (1) its inspectors' performance; and (2) poultry plants' compliance with federal laws and regulations. GAO noted that: (1) FSIS inspectors visually inspect all slaughtered poultry; (2) FSIS believes that its inspection approach is inadequate to detect potentially hazardous compounds and biological agents; (3) the FSIS work force is decreasing, while its inspection burden is increasing; (4) FSIS could improve its quality measurement if it established baseline objective data on inspectors' quality, timeliness, and efficiency; and (5) FSIS is attempting to develop indicators of plant performance.