Food Distribution Program

USDA's Canned Beef and Pork Can Be Improved Gao ID: RCED-91-81 May 13, 1991

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the quality of canned meat distributed by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) through its food distribution program, focusing on: (1) perceived product acceptability; (2) comparability to other similar federal and commercial products; (3) quality assurance procedures; (4) procurement standards and specifications; and (5) alternatives for aesthetic or other product improvements.

GAO found that: (1) although state distributing agencies generally accepted both the canned beef and pork items, they indicated dissatisfaction with the presence of such objectionable material as blood vessels, connective tissue, and tendons; (2) USDA received complaints regarding other unappealing canned beef and pork characteristics, such as fat and salty taste; (3) canned beef and pork included 99 percent meat, of which no more than 18 percent could be fat, and up to 1 percent added salt; (4) USDA allowable fat content in its canned beef and pork was less than that of retail fresh lean ground beef, and the salt levels in other retail products were both lower and higher than they were in USDA canned beef and pork; (5) USDA inspected its canned beef and pork for wholesomeness under the same procedures it used for all meats intended for interstate trade; and (6) USDA could employ a number of alternative product specifications and processing methods to improve both products' appearance.

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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