'No way food safety not compromised': US regulation rollbacks during Covid-19 criticised

[riversedge]

Source: the guardian






Major pork plant closed after hundreds of workers contract coronavirus, while speeding up of poultry production lines raises concerns over standards


Last modified on Mon 20 Apr 2020 07.49 EDT

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The US government is accelerating controversial regulatory rollbacks to speed up production at meat plants, as companies express growing alarm at the impact of Covid-19 on their operations.

Last week Smithfield shut down one of the largest pork plants in the country after hundreds of employees contracted the coronavirus. The plant in South Dakota – whose output represents 4–5% of US pork production – is reported to be the largest single-source coronavirus hotspot in the US, with more than 600 cases. In response, the company said it was “critical” for the meat industry to “continue to operate unabated”.

Now it has emerged that as a wave of plants announce closures, US meat plants are being granted permission to increase the speed of their production lines. This comes despite warnings that the waivers for higher speeds on slaughter and processing lines will compromise food safety.


'If one of us gets sick, we all get sick': the food workers on the coronavirus front line


The latest line speed increases, announced by the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) mean 11 poultry plants have been given waivers to operate higher line speeds in the past fortnight. A number of beef and pork plants have also been given waivers, including a beef plant in Kansas in late March. The move will allow the additional chicken factories to slaughter as many as 175 birds a minute – the equivalent of 3 per second.

A union representing federal food safety inspectors has said faster lines will make it harder to catch “pathology that shouldn’t be going out to the consumers”.......................

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/20/no-way-food-safety-not-compromised-us-regulatory-roll-backs-during-covid-19-criticised

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Good gawd!

[FarPoint]

1. Has the food product been tested?

I know heat kills the virus...so, we must cook the meat thoroughly....

[oldsoftie]

2. And the fact that its a respiratory illness too. Far less likely to catch it from food.

Thats been reported many times by many doctors, not just ME saying it

[FarPoint]

3. Just thinking....

No pepperoni or sausage for me on my delivery pizza....Actually, I make all my pizza's at home from scratch...cook all my meat...bake pizza in a 450 degree oven on a pizza stone...I think I'm good.

Ahhh...flour is in short supply.... I fortunately had a nice stockpile...buy 10 pounds flour at Costco...before virus pandemic.

[neohippie]

17. I used to run a pizza delivery joint

Our pizza's were cooked at 500 degrees, and our kitchens had to have certified health and safety personnel running them and were inspected by health inspectors etc.. Not sure why you are not trusting pizza delivery?

[FarPoint]

19. Ohhh I do trust pizza shops...

Just a family activity....making our own pizza dough with the kids.....also making fresh pasta, cakes from scratch, gardening, home canning....As a result...my son, Brett is now a BA 4 year degree French Chef trained at New England Culinary Institute in Vermont...working in Toronto...Cafe' Boulud…. Cooking is a complete family passion...my Emily, she has the chickens...hahaha...her husband is also a Chef.


https://www.cafeboulud.com/nyc/

https://www.neci.edu/

[IronLionZion]

4. Consumers can always disinfect packages when we buy it

but who is going to help these workers who are getting sick from unsafe conditions and close quarters? I'll stop buying Smithfield pork for a while. Not like it's in stock these days anyway since people are hoarding.

Oh well, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are probably clutch these days for a healthy heart if I am to survive in case I catch the virus. I hope these meat workers survive too.

[FBaggins]

14. This isn't about the risk of spreading the virus

It's that the change will necessarily result in lower food-safety standards. Not increasing the risk of a virus on the packaging (which probably isn't significant), but bacterial infection of the food itself getting through.

[IronLionZion]

15. I cook chicken and pork to 160-165 degrees or higher

and use a meat thermometer to make sure it kills off bacteria like salmonella.

[Phoenix61]

5. Maybe time to go back to being a vegetarian. nt

[turbinetree]

6. Time to re-read...... The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy

The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy
by Michael Lewis

[Lonestarblue]

8. Thanks for the recommendation. I just bought the Kindle version.

[turbinetree]

9. It is pretty insightful about how everything is basically tied to the USDA

[RobinA]

11. No Need For Me

to reread that, the part on the weather about did me in. Depressing.

[turbinetree]

12. Yepper spot on...............most people do have an inkling about NOAA being tied to the USDA......

it is depressing.....and now they have some libertarian yahoo trying his damnedest to dismantle everything............ , while they are shafting the farmers................

[progree]

7. Folks, this isn't just about C-19. Also of huge concern: salmonella, e-coli, ...

Raw chicken is often contaminated by dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens. Foodborne illnesses, like those caused by these pesky microbes, strike one in six Americans every year according to the CDC.

But giving raw chicken a rinse doesn't eliminate these pathogens - that's what cooking is for. Washing the chicken just allows these dangerous microorganisms to spread, potentially by hitching a watery ride through spray, sponge or utensil.

https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-why-washing-raw-chicken-is-dangerous

[dalton99a]

13. +1. Bacteria are far more likely to be a threat

[Hekate]

10. KnR

[Bayard]

16. They had already rolled back the number of inspectors,

So now, speed up the manufacturing to kill 3 chickens a second. Rolling back waivers sounds like a very bad idea. They were put in place for a reason.

I haven't heard of any huge clamor for more meat since the virus. I'm sure most people just want what they are buying to be safe.

[roamer65]

18. Cook it good, folks.