Lawsuit against USDA to stop implementation of new poultry inspection rules

Food and Water Watch, a US-based action group, has filed a suit in the federal court against the US department of agriculture (USDA) to stop the implementation of the new poultry inspection system (NPIS) rules.

The group feels that these rules will privatise poultry inspection, which will lead other players in the meat industry to police themselves.

The group says that the new rules are a violation of the 1957 Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), which gave USDA the authority to protect consumer health and welfare by ensuring that poultry products were unadulterated and safe with proper packaging and labeling.

Speaking about the new regulations, Food and Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter said: "The USDA’s decision to embrace the scheme, an initiative lobbied for by the meat industry for more than a decade, flies in the face of the agency’s mandate to protect consumers.

"What’s more, we believe it’s illegal."

The group accuses the NPIS of violating statutory requirements, including the PPIA’s prescription that it is the responsibility of federal government inspectors and not poultry slaughter establishment staff to check adulterated young chicken and turkey carcasses.

The group further alleges that some of the rules included in the final draft were not included during the public review of the proposed rules.

The organisation also said that the new rules do not make it mandatory for company inspectors to undergo training, which qualifies USDA inspectors to fulfill the tasks. Under the new format, company inspectors will be handed the responsibility to remove adulterated product from slaughter lines at their own discretion.

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Image: Food and Water Watch is against the implementation of the new poultry inspection system. Photo: courtesy of lkunl / freedigitalphotos.net.