Meat groups to USDA: Continue plant inspections
February 11, 2013 | 06:31 PM
The Agriculture Department should declare federal meat, poultry and egg product inspectors essential government employees and continue meat inspections even if sequestration of government funds goes into effect, the National Chicken Council and 37 other agriculture groups wrote Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today.
Last week Vilsack and the White House said if across-the-board sequestration goes into effect on March 1 requiring a cut in the spending of all government agencies, meat inspectors would be furloughed for 15 days. Establishments may not produce meat, poultry or egg products without federal inspection.
“Because of the importance of federal inspection to the production of meat, poultry and egg products, we do not believe furloughing FSIS inspectors to be an appropriate response to sequestration within the framework of the federal meat, poultry and egg products inspection laws. It certainly would not be in the public interest,” the groups wrote.
The groups also noted that even when the federal government has shut down due to lack of appropriations, Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors were among the “essential” federal employees who stayed on the job.
FSIS’s plans for a potential shutdown in April 2011, for example, declared FSIS inspectors “necessary to protect life and health” and “essential to the nation’s food safety operations.”
“We fail to see how employees performing such a critical function as to be exempted from a full government shutdown should be furloughed to make up a budget shortfall,” the letter continued.
The groups said that furloughing FSIS inspectors “would be inconsistent with the mandates of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Egg Products Inspection Act, which prohibit the production, processing, or interstate distribution of meat, poultry and egg products without federal inspection.”
The letter concluded, “We recognize that sequestration presents significant challenges that require USDA and all other federal government agencies to make difficult decisions to prioritize resources. But cutting an essential, legally mandated program such as food safety inspection is not the way to address the government’s budget deficit. We urge USDA to examine all options available to meet its obligations under sequestration while upholding its commitment to ensuring that American consumers have access to the safe, wholesome and nutritious protein sources they have come to expect from the nation's meat, poultry and egg products industries.”
J. Patrick Boyle
Separately, American Meat Institute President J. Patrick Boyle wrote Vilsack on Friday and President Barack Obama today that USDA has "a statutory obligation to provide meat and poultry inspection services.”
“It is incumbent upon the secretary to examine the options available and develop a plan to provide inspection services, e.g., furlough non-essential agency personnel, in order to satisfy the duty imposed on him by the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Product Inspection Act," Boyle wrote.”
The Obama administration has acknowledged that stopping the inspections would cause chaos in the industries affected and reduce the supply of those products, and urged Congress to reach agreement to deal with the sequestration.
The agriculture groups did not mention the issue of whether Congress should address the sequestration in their letter, but the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said in a statement that its members are “concerned by the impact of a possible furlough on the Food Safety Inspection Service and hope Congress acts quickly to lessen the impact on Americas cattlemen and women.”
The National Pork Producers Council, which also signed the letter, said in a statement that it “would be very concerned if, in the event of sequestration, USDA chose to furlough food-safety inspectors rather than employees who are less vital to public safety.”
“If USDA decides to cut FSIS inspectors, the resulting tumult would not only impact thousands of farmers and tens of thousands of workers throughout the food system but would have major cost and availability impacts on U.S. consumers,” the NPPC said.
Last week Vilsack and the White House said if across-the-board sequestration goes into effect on March 1 requiring a cut in the spending of all government agencies, meat inspectors would be furloughed for 15 days. Establishments may not produce meat, poultry or egg products without federal inspection.
“Because of the importance of federal inspection to the production of meat, poultry and egg products, we do not believe furloughing FSIS inspectors to be an appropriate response to sequestration within the framework of the federal meat, poultry and egg products inspection laws. It certainly would not be in the public interest,” the groups wrote.
The groups also noted that even when the federal government has shut down due to lack of appropriations, Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors were among the “essential” federal employees who stayed on the job.
FSIS’s plans for a potential shutdown in April 2011, for example, declared FSIS inspectors “necessary to protect life and health” and “essential to the nation’s food safety operations.”
“We fail to see how employees performing such a critical function as to be exempted from a full government shutdown should be furloughed to make up a budget shortfall,” the letter continued.
The groups said that furloughing FSIS inspectors “would be inconsistent with the mandates of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Egg Products Inspection Act, which prohibit the production, processing, or interstate distribution of meat, poultry and egg products without federal inspection.”
The letter concluded, “We recognize that sequestration presents significant challenges that require USDA and all other federal government agencies to make difficult decisions to prioritize resources. But cutting an essential, legally mandated program such as food safety inspection is not the way to address the government’s budget deficit. We urge USDA to examine all options available to meet its obligations under sequestration while upholding its commitment to ensuring that American consumers have access to the safe, wholesome and nutritious protein sources they have come to expect from the nation's meat, poultry and egg products industries.”
Separately, American Meat Institute President J. Patrick Boyle wrote Vilsack on Friday and President Barack Obama today that USDA has "a statutory obligation to provide meat and poultry inspection services.”
“It is incumbent upon the secretary to examine the options available and develop a plan to provide inspection services, e.g., furlough non-essential agency personnel, in order to satisfy the duty imposed on him by the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Product Inspection Act," Boyle wrote.”
The Obama administration has acknowledged that stopping the inspections would cause chaos in the industries affected and reduce the supply of those products, and urged Congress to reach agreement to deal with the sequestration.
The agriculture groups did not mention the issue of whether Congress should address the sequestration in their letter, but the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said in a statement that its members are “concerned by the impact of a possible furlough on the Food Safety Inspection Service and hope Congress acts quickly to lessen the impact on Americas cattlemen and women.”
The National Pork Producers Council, which also signed the letter, said in a statement that it “would be very concerned if, in the event of sequestration, USDA chose to furlough food-safety inspectors rather than employees who are less vital to public safety.”
“If USDA decides to cut FSIS inspectors, the resulting tumult would not only impact thousands of farmers and tens of thousands of workers throughout the food system but would have major cost and availability impacts on U.S. consumers,” the NPPC said.
