Personal Injury Law

FSIS - Follow Your Own Damn Rules and Tell the Public Where the E. coli O157:H7-tainted JBS Swift Meat Went.

By Bill Marler, Esq.

On August 18, 2008 after years of hand wringing, the FSIS finally put public health before 'proprietary' business interests when it made the following rule:

9 C.F.R. § 390.10 Availability of Lists of Retail Consignees during Meat or Poultry Product Recalls

The Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service will make publicly available the names and locations of retail consignees of recalled meat or poultry products that the Agency compiles in connection with a recall where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product could cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

The full rule can be reviewed at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/2005-0028F.pdf

The Bottom Line:

The FSIS is now supposed to make available to the public names and locations of retail consignees (grocery stores, etc.) of meat and poultry products recalled by a federally-inspected meat or poultry establishment if the recalled product has been distributed to the retail level.

The rule will only apply to Class I recalls (like the JBS Swift ones). The information is supposed to be posted on the FSIS website, generally within three (3) to ten (10) working days, following the announcement of the recall.

So, FSIS, where in the hell is it?

By the way, posts like these will keep me in the private sector.

Full post as published by Marler Blog on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).