USDA to strengthen oversight of meat plants after listeria recalls

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Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday said it would ramp up inspections at meat plants following a string of listeria outbreaks earlier this year that exposed major safety flaws at food processors.
• The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said it will prioritize completion of food safety assessments in fiscal year 2025 at ready-to-eat meat and poultry facilities that “rely exclusively on sanitation measures to control for Listeria.” 
• The agency will also test for a broader range of listeria species in all meat samples beginning January 2025. FSIS inspectors will also collect data from facilities on a weekly basis to verify specific risk factors and determine if further action is warranted.

Dive Insight:

Deadly listeria outbreaks this year have led to recalls of millions of pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.

Most recently, Yu Shang Food Inc. recalled meat and poultry products after two infants died and 17 people were hospitalized from a listeria outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Dec. 5 said it expanded the number of cases linked to the outbreak after it found a second strain of listeria.

The outbreak happened a couple months after BrucePac Foods recalled more than 12 million pounds of processed chicken used in salad kits and other products due to listeria concerns. Although there have been no reported deaths linked to BrucePac products, a lack of traceability made it difficult for the USDA to quickly identify which items were impacted by the outbreak.

Over the course of reviewing its systems following the outbreaks, FSIS said it identified a number of improvements that can be implemented quickly. Beyond added oversight to ready-to-eat meat plants, the agency plans to update training for inspectors and will put together a new committee reviewing its regulatory approach to listeria.

The agency said it will also make changes to a monthly list of facilities with higher rates of noncompliance related to public health, allowing FSIS to better identify high-risk plants.

“These steps are common sense improvements to our work that will strengthen our food safety net as we continue improving the agency’s work to align with the best available science and practices,” Dr. Emilio Esteban, USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety, said in a statement.