Summary

The law requires that imported meats be produced under inspection systems that are at least equivalent to that of the United States. In addition to being wholesome and unadulterated, the products must be properly marked, labeled, and packaged. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for determining whether foreign inspection systems equal the U.S. one and for inspecting imported meats at ports of entry to ensure their integrity. In response to concerns about how USDA certifies the wholesomeness of imported Canadian meat, GAO (1) reviewed USDA efforts to document that Canada's meat inspection system is equivalent to that of the United States, (2) analyzed inspection and rejection data for U.S. and Canadian meat crossing the border, and (3) suggests alternative measures to strengthen USDA's import inspection procedures for Canadian meat.

GAO found that: (1) although in its March 1992 summary report and supporting documentation, FSIS determined that the U.S. and Canadian meat inspection systems were equivalent, various differences did exist, but FSIS did not consider them significant; (2) a peer review would have made the equivalency report more credible and the equivalency process less susceptible to future challenges, but scientists and public health experts from outside of USDA did not review the study; (3) Canada generally inspected twice as many U.S. meat products as the United States did Canadian meat products, due to differences between their inspection procedures; (4) rejection data showed no consistent pattern in the differences between the two countries' rejection rates; and (5) USDA and its Canadian counterpart have developed a plan to make the meat import reinspection systems more comparable by adopting suggested alternative measures for strengthening USDA import inspection procedures, and have agreed to harmonize reinspection frequency and to ensure the equivalency of other procedures.