Because of the government shutdown, the Food and Drug Administration sent thousands of its workers home on furloughs. As a result, routine food inspections and imported food inspections have stopped.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service announced changes to the process it uses to detect Salmonella in ground beef. Among the changes, beef samples that inspectors examine will increase from 25 grams to 325 grams.
In a review of some 600 swine slaughtering plants, the Office of the Inspector General focused on 30 plants that raised red flags. Onsite visits by the OIG revealed inspectors were not following proper steps to ensure diseased meat does not enter the food supply.
