Food Safety

Issues USDA Should Address Before Ending Canadian Meat Inspections Gao ID: RCED-90-176 July 6, 1990

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) inspection procedures for Canadian meat, focusing on: (1) the process FSIS uses to determine that the Canadian inspection system meets U.S. standards; (2) how current border inspection procedures differ from past procedures; (3) how changes in border inspection procedures between 1988 and 1989 affected the rejection rate, and how rejection rates are used to manage the import inspection program; and (4) whether U.S. plants exporting meat to Canada are receiving satisfactory treatment under the Canadian import inspection system.

GAO found that: (1) in January 1989, FSIS implemented streamlined inspection procedures for Canadian meat to ease its entry into the United States; (2) according to FSIS inspection data, rejection rates for Canadian meat were higher in 1989 than in 1988; (3) FSIS did not require a foreign country's controls and practices to be identical to those in the United States; (4) documentation in FSIS files was not adequate to independently review how FSIS determined the Canadian system's equivalency; and (5) FSIS would have to decide whether adequate import controls would ensure the wholesomeness of Canadian meat.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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