On April 5, the Obama administration announced a proposal for a new safety rule. This new rule will apply to meats that are being sold at grocery stores and supermarkets.
The proposed safety rule will require producers of meat products to delay shipment to various retail stores, like groceries and supermarkets. Basically, the producers will have to wait until the federal inspectors complete the necessary tests that will be done on the said shipments before it can shipped for distribution and marketing.
Currently, the USDA already does periodic sampling and testing on thousands of meat processing and packing facilities all over the country. The agency primarily tests for the presence of bacteria, most especially those very harmful ones. This information was reported by the WallStreet Journal.
In a press release, USDA has stated that the agency examines billions of poultry, egg and meat products every year. Out of these products, 44 percent of the most severe recalls that were made between the years 2007 to 2009 could have been avoided, if the rule of holding the product while it is being tested had been implemented.
According to USDA officials, the new safety rule on meats will significantly decrease the amount of products being marketed which contain harmful pathogens. This would eventually result to lesser recalls on meat products. This would also better assure consumers that what they are getting at the meat display section is free from disease-causing bacteria.
Completing the tests take about 24 to 48 hours and a number of meat producers are already delaying shipment of their products for these tests.
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