FSIS Launches Program to Boast Food Safety at Small Meat Processing Plants

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a initiative to provide the assistance necessary for small and very small meat-processing plant owners to improve their establishments' food safety programs.
        "As part of our commitment to ensure food safety at all of our nation's plants, FSIS held a national series of listening sessions and has identified innovative ways for small and very small establishments to fully benefit from our safety program that is responsible for dramatic reductions in foodborne illness," said USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond. "We will continue to enhance our outreach efforts to these plants and enlist our partners to ensure critical training, access to food safety experts and information resources are available in a format that's uniform, easily accessible and consistent."
        The program will feature a toll free number and webpage to assist small plants and better access to technical resources, including scientific validation materials and education and training information, delivered in new and innovative ways. Partnerships with industry, academia, consumers, federal, State, and international public health partners will be expanded and better leveraged. FSIS will assess the needs of the small and very small plants as well as evaluate the effectiveness of Agency programs designed to assist them, on a continuing basis.
        Small and very small plants comprise about 90% of the approximately 6,000 federally inspected meat, poultry and egg product plants in the United States. A small plant has between 10 and 500 employees and generates more than $2.5 million in annual sales. A very small plant employs fewer than 10 people or generates less than $2.5 million in annual sales.