The Federal Meat Inspection Act requires State Meat & Poultry Inspection (MPI) Programs to enforce requirements “at least equal to” the Federal requirements.
To ensure that States comply, the USDA Federal State Audit Branch (FSAB) conducts annual comprehensive audits of each state’s self-assessment, which includes records, reports, and other relevant documents to determine compliance with the regulatory requirements. In addition to the self-assessment, an onsite audit of State MPI are conducted at a minimum frequency of once every 3 years. This year’s FSAB onsite audit is currently scheduled for April 13 - 24, 2020. (dates are subject to change)
| The purpose of the onsite review is NOT to review your individual establishment, but rather to verify the State has implemented and can maintain its state inspection system in accordance with the self-assessment documents that were submitted, and to determine if the State is operating “at least equal to” Federal requirements. The onsite review consists of visits to State Inspected Establishments and the State Meat Inspection Office / Headquarters. TA establishments will NOT be reviewed, and FSAB usually won't select custom exempt establishments, or establishments that slaughter or process species that are not amenable to the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FIMA) or Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (e.g. quail) |
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Using the information gathered by both the State and USDA-FSIS, FSAB will assess, rank, and select establishments by high, medium, and low priority risks. The total number of establishments selected by FSAB for review during the onsite audit, is determined by the current number of establishments operating in the State. Establishments that are selected will be provided with the date and time the onsite review will commence.
If your establishment is elected, on the date of the review, FSAB will begin by leading an entrance meeting with you and our inspection staff to explain the purpose and methodology of the review. Our inspection staff will lead the establishment review. FSAB will conduct their onsite review by observing our staff inspecting your facilities, operations,and establishment records. FSAB will then correlate all findings with our inspection staff during the review, prior to our staff leading an exit meeting with you. All regulatory non-compliances that are observed during the review will be documented by our inspection staff, and may be appealed by your establishment, as usual.
The last onsite audit was conducted April 10th - 21st, 2017. The federal auditors visited 10 state inspected facilities and documented 9 findings. The findings consisted of 6 Sanitation Performance Standards (SPS), 2 Hazard analysis and critical points (HACCP), and 1 Labeling non-compliances observed by FSAB, that were not addressed by our inspection program during the audit.
A complete onsite review summary from FSAB will be available shortly after the conclusion of the audit and we will include a link to it in our newsletter at that time. This review summary will not include plant specific findings, but rather an assessment of whether or not out Meat Inspection Program is operating "at least equal to" Federal requirements, any non-compliance observed by FSAB that were not adequately addressed by our program, and any "vulnerabilities" (i.e. issues that did not rise to the level of a non-compliance but could lead to non-compliance in the future) identified by FSAB.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
For establishments that may have additional questions about the upcoming FSAB onsite audit, we have put together a list of the following FAQs:
Question: How does FSAB select which establishments they visit?
Answer: Establishments are typically selected by the following criteria from the past 36 months. Other establishments are randomly selected as needed to fill the onsite audit schedule(typically based on geographic location after initial establishment selections are made from the following list. If your establishment falls into one of the following categories, there is a reasonable chance that you may be selected:
- Your establishment was involved in a product recall, or product produced at your establishment was linked to human illness or a public health alert.
- Your establishment received positive test results for E. coli O157:H7/STEC in raw product, Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) or Salmonella in RTE product, or Salmonella and Campylobacter set failures.
- An administrative enforcement action was initiated for your establishment (eg: Notice of Intended Enforcement (NOIE) Withholding, Suspension).
- Your establishment sustained structural damage due to a natural disaster.
- Your establishment is considered isolated or new.
- Establishments within the assignments of new program inspectors or District Supervisors since the last FSAB review.
- Your establishment is one of the highest volume producers in the state.
- Establishments with tier 1 or tier 2 Public Health Regulation (PHR) noncompliance rates.
- Establishments with documented Public Health Regulation (PHR) based non-compliances during the last FSAB onsite review.
QUESTION: When would I know if USDA FSAB selected my establishment for a review?
ANSWER: FSAB communicates a tentative list of state inspected establishments selected for review a few weeks prior to their visit. Our inspection staff will notify you as soon as possible after the list is received. This tentative list is subject to change at USDA's discretion, and we will communicate any change to you as soon as we receive the information.
QUESTION: What will I need to do to prepare for the audit?
ANSWER: You should continue your operations as usual. USDA FSAB’s primary objective is to audit the performance of our inspection program. The auditors will ask inspection staff questions to determine if we are enforcing applicable laws and regulations and to ensure that we have implemented inspection procedures and guidelines “at least equal to” USDA. In making this determination, the auditors will conduct a walk-thru of your facilities production and non-production areas (including retail areas and storage facilities). USDA will observe your normal operations and procedures and may review documentation such as your HACCP and SSOP plans, product labels, sample results, plant improvement programs, and HACCP initial validation records.
QUESTION: Will the auditors ask me any questions?
ANSWER: The auditor may ask you questions about your operations, procedures, and documentation as necessary for clarification purposes.
To view last year’s self-assessment audit or to find out more information, you can click on the links below.
2019 Review Summary of the State Program
State Cooperative Agreement Program |
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African Swine Fever virus: What do I need to know?
Imagine this past Monday you arrived at the usual time to perform antemortem inspection before your plant slaughtered 20 pigs. After you get settled with your boots and other gear on, the sun is barely coming up and the lights are still on in the holding pens so you can see.
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You notify the inspection staff IMMEDIATELY that there is an issue and allow them to take control of the situation because your plant will not be able to operate at this time. The inspector will call their supervisor and describe what they see. The PHV supervisor immediately calls the area public health veterinarian, who wisely decides that this situation needs a closer inspection.
Scenes like the one I just described have not been uncommon in parts of the world that are dealing with African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in domestic and feral pigs. Typically, the virus is found in parts of Africa, circulating in domestic and wild pig species. Since 2018, however, the disease has been found in several places outside the African continent including China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, South Korea, Timor, Indonesia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Many pigs have been humanely depopulated to control the virus’s spread and the disease has had a tremendous economic impact on countries with large pork industries.
ASF is a viral infection with no cure and no available vaccine. While it infects both domestic and wild swine species, it is not a threat to human health or food safety. Pigs that are exposed to the virus for the first time will develop clinical signs that typically progress to death within 3 to 15 days. Pigs can become infected through direct contact with other infected pigs, or through indirect contact like exposure to soft ticks, raw pork products, and contaminated clothing, feed, equipment, or vehicles. Over time, swine populations can show fewer clinical signs as the virus is spread, but they can become lifelong carriers of the disease.
Clinical signs of ASF infection include high fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, going off feed, and skin lesions such as a bright red to bluish tinge to the skin, especially on extremities like the tips of the ears. On postmortem inspection, you might notice that the spleen is very large and falls apart easily when you remove it or cut into it. You can also find large, bloody lymph nodes.
So, what are some things you can do when going about your daily duties with Meat Inspection to be on the lookout for this foreign animal disease?
- First and most importantly: if you see something – SAY SOMETHING!
- Unusual number of sick or dead pigs at your plant, at home, or at the neighbor’s? Call the area public health veterinarian.
- In the right conditions, the virus can persist for long periods of time, so be sure to change your clothes, and clean your boots, equipment, (and yourself) thoroughly at the end of the day, especially if you keep pigs at home.
ASF is a reportable, foreign animal disease in the United States and your thorough daily inspection on ante- and postmortem is a critical tool to keep our pigs healthy and our pork industry thriving!
For more information on ASF, visit:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/swine-disease-information/african-swine-
Janemarie Hennebelle, DVM, MPVM
Assistant State Veterinarian
Georgia Department of Agriculture
19 M.L.K, Jr. Dr. SW | Atlanta, GA |30334
Office: 404.656.3667 | Fax: 404.651.9024
www.agr.georgia.gov/animal-health.aspx
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