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 2007 at some 700 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. In addition, USDA’s IG listed the need for improved controls for food safety inspection systems as a new management challenge for 2008, noting that FSIS must demonstrate that its inspection processes are adequate to complete assessments of food safety plans for preventing contamination in packing and processing plants and implement a strategy to hire and train food safety inspectors.
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 a sharp 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)
^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done
While USDA has acted on many of our recommendations for promoting the safety of meat and poultry, other recommendations that could help Congress and the executive branch transform the federal oversight of food safety—and help address systemic problems with the nation's food safety system—have not been addressed:
- The executive branch needs to reconvene the President's Council on Food Safety to facilitate interagency coordination and develop a governmentwide performance plan that could help ensure agencies' goals are complementary.
Highlights of GAO-07-449T (PDF)
- 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 Handling and Slaughter: Public Reporting on Violations Can Identify Enforcement Challenges and Enhance Transparency
- GAO-08-686T, April 17, 2008
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 14 pages) Accessible Text
- Federal Oversight of Food Safety: High-Risk Designation Can Bring Needed Attention to Fragmented System
- GAO-07-449T, February 8, 2007
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 15 pages) Accessible Text
- Food Safety: Selected Countries' Systems Can Offer Insights into Ensuring Import Safety and Responding to Foodborne Illness
- GAO-08-794, June 10, 2008
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 96 pages) Accessible Text
- Oversight of Food Safety Activities: Federal Agencies Should Pursue Opportunities to Reduce Overlap and Better Leverage Resources
- GAO-05-213, March 30, 2005
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 90 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
