Trump administration to slash USDA pork inspections, including tests for salmonella, E. coli

[babylonsister]

What could go wrong?

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/3/1847489/-Trump-administration-to-slash-USDA-pork-inspections-including-tests-for-salmonella-E-coli

Trump administration to slash USDA pork inspections, including tests for salmonella, E. coli
Hunter
Daily Kos Staff
Wednesday April 03, 2019 · 2:03 PM EDT


The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration plans to slash the number of federal inspectors in the nation's pork-processing plants by about 40 percent. The change, which could take place next month, is part of the Republican press to deregulate industry—including removing regulations previously put in place for public safety reasons.

The removed federal inspectors would be replaced by ... actually, by nothing.

Under the proposed new inspection system, the responsibility for identifying diseased and contaminated pork would be shared with plant employees, whose training would be at the discretion of plant owners. There would be no limits on slaughter-line speeds.

The "responsibility" for keeping contaminated meat out of the plant would be transferred to industry employees, but there are no hard requirements for how, or if, those workers will be trained to identify specific diseases or contaminants. There would similarly be no requirement that the plant operate at a speed that would even allow for plausible visual inspections, and no requirement that plants publicly disclose the results of their own disease testing, a move that could delay identification of new outbreaks.

Tests for salmonella and E. coli, two of the most common causes of serious food-borne illness, will seemingly no longer be required at all.

If this sounds to you like a recipe for disaster, you are in good company. The USDA's chief veterinarian refused to approve the proposed changes, citing the potential for catastrophic disease outbreaks if less-trained plant workers failed to identify one of the highly contagious diseases that USDA's veterinarians would otherwise have caught. But he has since left the department, and Team Trump forced the issue through soon after he departed. And though years of prior USDA experiments with the new protocol have not borne out lofty industry promises of continued safety, that does not seem to have deterred administration attempts to push forward.

snip//

After the first large new outbreak happens, a new administration will likely re-tighten those same controls, returning to something much like the original system. But it will only be after something goes wrong. Food safety advocates and industry watchers warn that the "something goes wrong" part, if it results in a new epidemic, could mean human deaths, catastrophic industry losses, or both. For consumers, the only recourse would appear to be not buying the stuff.

[Moostache]

1. Note to self....

Stop eating pork ASAP.

[kimbutgar]

2. I just got back into eating pork especially pork loins

Now I have to give them up. I hope many magas get salmonella poisoning courtesy of the orange maggot. The orange maggot just destroyed another farming industry.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. While we're at it, let's bring back trichinosis.

During the initial infection, invasion of the intestines can result in diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Migration of larvae to muscle, which occurs about a week after being infected, can cause swelling of the face, inflammation of the whites of the eyes, fever, muscle pains, and a rash... Complications may include inflammation of heart muscle, central nervous system involvement, and inflammation of the lungs.

[Takket]

4. why pork specifically? Why not beef or chicken or anything else?

[Deb]

8. Didn't China recently buy Smithfield? Just my guess on cutting regulations for them.

[Bantamfancier]

5. Wonder where we are headed?

I recomend reading “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair

Written in 1904, but at this pace, we’ll be right back there.

[Freethinker65]

6. Guess Trump feels he is safe eating fast food and other well done (not red, pink, nor juicy) meat

Buyer beware or pass the ketchup.

[lpbk2713]

7. Pork is one of the most easily contaminated meats.

Thanks for the warning. Hog and pig farms have been
a health problem for years, Now it will get worse.

I think I'll just pass on pork for a while.