US experts to talk on inspections

08 September 1997

US experts to talk on inspections

THE US Department of Agriculture advisory panel on meat and poultry meet tomorrow to discuss how to handle plant inspections from next January. That is the date from which new food safety rules take effect.

The issue is high profile in the light of the recall last month of 25 million 1b (11.34m kg) of beef by Hudson Foods, of Arkansas, after an E Coli scare. Regulators think more powers offer a partial solution. The Food and Drug Administration renewed demands for mandatory recall authority and the ability to fine companies in cases of food safety violation.

However, beef sales have weathered the Hudson case, according to the National Cattlemens Beef Association. In other developed countries, red meat has become a markedly less important part of the average diet.