The Supreme Beef vs. USDA ruling had all of FSIS still shaking while I was there, and they were worried about further losses from lawsuits if they got too overly zealous in their rulemaking to further protect us from foodborne illnesses.

Supreme Beef was providing ground beef to the National School Lunch Program that at times had as high as 47 percent of samples testing positive for Salmonella, but the courts said that was OK and ruled against FSIS/USDA, which had intended to pull inspectors to protect your children and grandchildren.

So, when the revised poultry inspection rules were challenged by two individuals and Food and Water Watch, you had to wonder how that would play out.

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the individuals and FWW lacked the legal standing to sue.

“These allegations…fail to plausibly allege that the regulations substantially increase the risk of foodborne illness,” Judge Robert Wilkins stated.

The implementation of this rule is voluntary and 49 plants have requested to opt into the new system out of an estimated 219 chicken and turkey plants.

The rulemaking was protracted with FSIS receiving over 250,000 comments and a great deal of debate and commentary using various media outlets.

This rule will cost the bargaining unit dues paying members as the companies themselves begin sorting and condemning birds before presenting them to the FSIS inspector for final inspection.

The most common causes of condemnation are not food safety issues, but cosmetic ones such as feathers, bruises and broken limbs.

One of the individual plaintiffs is a retired internist named Margaret Sowerwine from North Carolina. She claims that she will be “harmed by having to seek out alternative poultry sources in order to avoid possibly dangerous birds,” according to McClatchy DC.

She also wrote an editorial to a N.C. paper criticizing the state for not expanding Medicaid, stating it would cost them nothing since the federal government pays for 90 percent of Medicaid costs, which is far from the truth.

She has too much time on her hands, I think, and should spend some of it in a chicken slaughter facility to see where the real danger from a foodborne illness can be reduced, such as FSIS is doing and now has the green light to continue doing.

The other individual was Alina Pittman from Charlotte who wrote that she was worried about “the ability to make sure that what goes into my body is healthy.”

As Douglas would say, “Ms. Pittman, just cook it to 165 degrees and I guarantee you it will be healthy.”

By the way, Craven’s last flock had 555 condemned out of nearly 75,000 birds—one out of every 150. I expect these were not for food safety issues, but for the company’s brand integrity. Douglas, can you enlighten us?

And we will still eat the meat from those birds, but it will be on pizzas, in sausage and in soup.

High Five, FSIS. You did your homework well.

The good guys (FSIS) finally win one

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