Food Safety and Inspection Service

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service 2 Meat and Poultry and Egg Products

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service 3 Mission Statement Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Mission Statement USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is a public health regulatory agency charged with ensuring that the United States' supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service 4 FSIS Regulatory Authority Federal Meat Inspection Act (1906) – 9 CFR 301 Poultry Products Inspection Act (1957) – 9 CFR 381 Egg Products Inspection Act (1970) – 9 CFR 590 The Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act apply equally to products that are exported from the United States, as well as domestic product

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service 5 Approaches Foundation for Food Safety  Strong Science  Surveillance Systems  Prevention Programs  Research and Risk Assessment  Education and Outreach  Outbreak Response

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service 6 Office of International Affairs (OIA) (OIA)(OIA) Manages all FSIS activities related to import and export. Assures importing countries inspection systems are equivalent to U.S. Interacts with over 100 foreign countries.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Background FSIS is the U.S. public health agency charged with ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of the commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products. FSIS administers and enforces the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act, and the regulations that implement these laws.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Background FSIS has a workforce of more than 9,000 employees, which includes about 7,800 full-time inspection personnel serving at more than 6,000 federally inspected plants. Workforce includes veterinarians, consumer safety officers, microbiologists, chemists, and other specialists.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Imports FSIS also has the responsibility of regulating the imports of meat, poultry, and processed egg products. During 2010, FSIS imported about 3.1 billion pounds of meat and poultry products and another 22 million pounds of processed egg products.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Imports 49.0 % 4.0% 13.0 % 23.0% % Meat and Poultry Imported into U.S. FY- 2010

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Imports –82.5 % Fresh Red Meat manufacturing, carcasses and cuts – 3.8 % Fresh Poultry – 13.7 % Processed Meat / Poultry

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Imports All 22 million pounds of imported egg products are imported from Canada. [CY ] –11.9 % Pasteurized Liquid Frozen – 86.1 Unpasteurized Liquid Frozen – 2 % Dried

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Imports (Current Eligible Countries - 30) Argentina Australia Austria Brazil Canada Chile Costa Rica Croatia Denmark Finland France Germany Honduras Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Japan Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Northern Ireland Poland San Marino Spain Sweden United Kingdom Uruguay

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Imports Imported meat, poultry and egg products must meet the same safety standards as similar products produced in the United States. FSIS is considered to be the gold standard in regulating imported products to ensure safety and wholesomeness.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Imports Three-Part Approach Equivalence Evaluations International Audits Port-of-Entry Reinspection

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Equivalence Evaluations The concept of equivalence and the actions undertaken by FSIS are underscored by international law; specifically, the Agreement of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). Implemented in 1995 concurrently with the establishment of the WTO.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Equivalence Evaluations Countries Requesting Initial Systems Equivalence Bosnia/Herzegovina Bulgaria China Columbia Costa Rica Dominican Republic El Salvador Egypt Ecuador Greece Guatemala India Jamaica Jordan Korea Latvia Malaysia Namibia Paraguay Philippines Portugal Russia Samoa Serbia Taiwan Thailand Turkey Ukraine

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service International Audits FSIS conducts audits of foreign inspection systems for two reasons: –As part of the initial systems equivalence process. –Routine annual audits to verify whether countries are maintaining an equivalent system.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Port-Of-Entry Reinspection FSIS reinspects ALL meat and poultry products at ports of entry before they are allowed into U.S. commerce.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Port-Of-Entry Reinspection About 65 FSIS import inspectors carry out re- inspections at approximately 120 official import establishments.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service

Port-Of-Entry Reinspection All shipments are reinspected for: Transportation Damage / General Condition Labeling Proper Certification Box Count

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Port-Of-Entry Reinspection About 10 % of shipments have an in-depth reinspection. (Examples) Laboratory Analyses –microbiological contamination –chemical residues –food chemistry Product Examination e.g., foreign material Condition of Container Examination

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Exports FSIS regulates the exports of meat, poultry and egg products. Negotiate with foreign countries on requirements. Maintain an export library. – rmation/index.asphttp:// rmation/index.asp

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service Other International Activities Works closely with FAS, APHIS, USTR, and other U.S. government agencies. Provide technical expertise in bi-lateral meetings with foreign countries, and other international meetings, e.g., Codex Ongoing communication with foreign governments.

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service FSIS FSIS Website:

USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service FSIS Thanks Steve Hawkins USDA, FSIS, Office of International Affairs