Inspection Activities of the Food Safety and Inspection Service

Gao ID: T-GGD-87-15 May 15, 1987

GAO discussed the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) productivity and quality management in its poultry inspection functions, focusing on FSIS assessment of: (1) its inspectors' performance; and (2) poultry plants' compliance with federal laws and regulations. GAO noted that: (1) FSIS inspectors visually inspect all slaughtered poultry; (2) FSIS believes that its inspection approach is inadequate to detect potentially hazardous compounds and biological agents; (3) the FSIS work force is decreasing, while its inspection burden is increasing; (4) FSIS could improve its quality measurement if it established baseline objective data on inspectors' quality, timeliness, and efficiency; and (5) FSIS is attempting to develop indicators of plant performance.



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