Inspection of chickens in the U.S. may soon become more lax

Is this dinner staple about to become more dangerous to eat than ever?

Like most people, I’m no fan of government intrusion in our lives. I’d rather measure regulations by the cup than the gallon.

But when it comes to food safety and drug safety, it might be the one area where I think we need a bit more intervention.

We’ve seen how drug companies and food conglomerates behave when they think nobody is watching. So we obviously can’t count on these industries to police themselves. Not with our health and our lives in the balance.

That’s why a new proposal from the USDA is so shocking. Officials are about to trade safety for profits.

A familiar story…but this time it’s downright frightening.

Fox, this is your henhouse

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the source of a new plan to curb poultry inspection.

The plan proposes only two simple changes…

1) Reduce visual inspections of poultry

2) Shift remaining inspection responsibilities to processing plant employees

I’ve never heard of FSIS before. First impression: they’re out of their minds.

Part One will allow inspection speed to nearly double. Currently, the inspection system allows speeds of about 90 chickens per minute. The new speed will be 175 chickens per minute.

That’s nearly three birds per second! What kind of “inspecting” can you possibly do at that speed?

Part Two literally puts a fox in the henhouse. You can just imagine the level of diligence from an employee of the poultry company as he “inspects” more than 10,000 birds zooming by every hour.

On the plus side, the benefits are huge. The plan may save FSIS as much as $95 million in three years. The poultry industry could save $250 million.

And that brings us to the end of the huge benefits. You probably noticed that this lucrative package does not include benefits for you and me. Well…unless you consider the adrenalin rush of playing chicken roulette a “benefit.”

I’ll continue to follow this one. And I’ll let you know if these ludicrous proposals actually become regulations.

Meanwhile, this might be a perfect time to change our chicken buying habits. You can find several sources online that offer poultry products made from organic, free-range birds. They’re more nutritious than any chicken you’ll find at a big chain grocery store.

Sources:
“Letting the Fox Guard the Henhouse – Literally” Randy Rabinowitz, OMB Watch, 4/6/12, ombwatch.org