According to my source, yes.

FSIS intends to announce soon that the HACCP-Based Inspection Model Project (HIMP) will expand to the young swine slaughter plants.

In anticipation of this next step, 60 liberal and mostly urban Congressional Democrats sent USDA Secretary Vilsack a letter in January stating “It’s too early to expand this regulatory regime.”

The effort to stall HIMP for pigs is apparently led by two very familiar women who often side with the bargaining unit for the FSIS inspectors and try and thwart efforts to modernize inspection: Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter from New York.

I have to ask these FSIS antagonists, is it really “too early?”

After all, the HIMP project has been in place in 5 facilities for over 20 years. That is 20 years of collecting data and comparing results with conventional inspection.

I say the time has come to modernize inspection that will, according to the FSIS web page:

Maintain and enhance the food safety and other consumer protection benefits of the current carcass inspection system and
Effectively and efficiently oversee, evaluate and verify industry implementation of the PR/HACCP regulations.

HIMP for all interested poultry plants was implemented last year, and as expected, the bargaining unit, assisted by some of the advocacy groups known to fight to protect these men and women’s jobs, took FSIS and USDA to court and lost.

Both district and appellate courts upheld HIMP for the birds. I see no reason they would not uphold HIMP for bacon production.

FSIS does not even talk about HIMP for cattle and the reason is simple. The birds and swine are pretty much young, healthy animals while the age of beef cattle varies significantly. There are the very young veal calves, the relatively young corn fed steers, older grass fed cattle and the ancient spent dairy cows.

Not to say it can’t be done, because it is in some other countries that export beef to the United States, such as Australia.

Alternate inspection systems (HIMP) were approved for imported meats in 2008 and Nolan Meats in Australia almost immediately applied and was subsequently approved for export to the United States. I have been in that plant twice and I can honestly say that when you compare their contamination rates with ours, they win hands down.

Before someone cries foul, the first time was an official USDA trip to speak at their Export Federation annual meeting and to meet with Australian and New Zealand food safety officials about a change I wanted to make in equivalency. The second was as a private citizen as a guest and speaker for the Australian Meat and Livestock Association in 2013.

Let the plant personnel sort for physical blemishes and defects. Let FSIS verity the effectiveness and reliability of the establishments’ slaughter process controls. And let’s move on.

It is definitely not “too early” to birth this baby.

Will the HIMP wars be re-engaged soon?

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