Meat inspection system is fine, official testifies

WASHINGTON —  The Bush administration Thursday resisted calls from Congress to add more inspectors and new technologies to oversee slaughterhouses, saying neither was necessary to do the job adequately.

The exchange, during a hearing before a House subcommittee, reflected continuing fallout from the nation’s largest beef recall, which occurred this year.

Richard Raymond, undersecretary for food safety, told committee members that the Department of Agriculture had enough food inspectors after hiring 194 in 2007. Videotaping meat plant operations, another suggestion from Congress, would be costly and difficult to implement, he added.

Raymond said that reviews of 18 plants providing beef to federal programs didn’t uncover the kind of mistreatment that prompted a recall in February, suggesting the situation was an aberration.

His testimony angered members of the House domestic policy subcommittee, who said the recall of beef slaughtered in the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. plant in Chino showed a need for improvements.

“We’re trying to look for solutions. If you would work with us, that would help,” said Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles).

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) also expressed displeasure.

“The time is long overdue to strengthen the practices at the USDA and to explore new methods of oversight, such as video surveillance,” he said.

The beef was recalled after the Humane Society of the United States released an undercover video showing the mistreatment of sick cows at Westland/Hallmark. The video showed plant workers using electric prods and forklifts to move cows that had fallen down before slaughter and violating government rules designed to protect the food supply from mad cow disease.

“I believe the egregious behavior we saw on these tapes was isolated, and we are doing the audits to confirm that,” Raymond said.

Besides plant inspections, the Agriculture Department has stepped up monitoring for mistreatment, he said.

But citing the Humane Society footage, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) echoed support for hiring more food inspectors and deploying video and other technologies.

“There is no space between us on these issues,” he told Democrats.

Many food companies already deploy video cameras in their plants, and there’s anecdotal evidence of benefits, experts say.

Stan Painter, who leads the federal food inspectors union, said inspectors were swamped with work. Painter said that video monitoring would help deter slaughterhouses from mistreating animals but that hiring more inspectors was even more vital.

“The shortages are putting consumers at risk because there are not enough of us to do our job,” he said.

Lisa Shames, a congressional researcher with the Government Accountability Office, said food inspectors at plants she recently visited “told us they were stretched thin.”