HACCP Pilot Program Data Presented

June 6, 2002

Data on USDA's hazard analysis critical control point (HAACP)-based inspection models project (HIMP) pilot program was presented Wednesday at a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI ).

USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service contracted with RTI International (RTI), a not-for-profit research organization, to manage and conduct baseline and models redesign data collection, analyze data, and report findings. In addition, FSIS conducted its own analysis and presented its findings at the meeting.

RTI compared baseline data collected between 1998-99 from plants operating under USDA's traditional inspection system to data collected between 2000-01 from plants operating under USDA's pilot program. RTI compiled data from 16 participating plants for each of seven categories. Improvements were noted in five of the seven categories, including the two categories that help measure the safety of the product.

The data show that improvements were made in detecting and controlling quality concerns such as bruises, ingesta, etc. as well as food safety measures such as infectious disease and fecal contamination. There was no improvement in controlling the quality issue pertaining to dressing defects (such as feathers) or the prevalence of Salmonella. Regarding Salmonella, according to RTI, the prevalence of Salmonella was statistically the same for HIMP plants and traditional plants. RTI data also showed that 11 of the 16 HIMP and traditional plants had prevalence rates below 10 percent for Salmonella, which is less than half the performance standards required in all plants.

HIMP, a pilot program that began in 1997, was designed to test whether new government slaughter inspection procedures, applied with revised plant HACCP controls and new plant process controls, can improve food safety and increase consumer protection. Only meat and poultry plants that slaughter exclusively young, healthy, uniform animals-market hogs, fed cattle, or young poultry (including turkeys)-are eligible for the project. These animals comprise nearly 90% of animals slaughtered in inspected establishments. Eligible plants may volunteer to participate in the pilot program.

In January the U.S. General Accounting Office provided USDA with recommendations to improve the pilot program. Since then, USDA said it has implemented many of GAO's suggestions, including a requirement that participating plants receive formalized training for plant personnel that participate in HIMP and a mandate that participating plants use statistical process control for quality defects.