Final report of an audit conducted in the United States of America to evaluate the food safety systems governing the production of meat and poultry products intended for export to Canada – January 23rd to February 10th, 2017
1 Introduction
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) conducted an audit of the US meat and meat products food safety system from January 23 through February 10, 2017. The CFIA selected official establishments with M and/or P designation as well as establishments with a V or I designation, which were eligible to export meat and/or meat products to Canada. The audit findings pertaining to inspection oversight at the establishments were discussed at the end of each audit day with the local Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) inspection personnel.
1.1 Audit objective, scope, and methodology
In preparation for this audit, the CFIA used a risk-based procedure to determine the audit scope, which included an analysis of production types and volumes, recalls and port of entry violations.
The CFIA auditors were accompanied throughout the audit by representatives from the CCA (Central competent authority). Program effectiveness determination focused on the government controls and oversight within 6 areas of risk:
- competent authority and oversight
- ante-mortem, humane handling and animal welfare controls
- post-mortem and slaughter
- processing controls
- hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) plan and prerequisite programs controls
- microbiological controls
Administrative functions were reviewed at CCA headquarters and 1 district office, during which the auditors evaluated that inspection, verification, and enforcement procedures were being implemented as intended. 18 establishments were selected from the list of United States department of agriculture (USDA) establishments that were eligible to export meat and poultry products to Canada at the time of the audit.
The CFIA auditors verified the system and its implementation via:
- FSIS presentations
- USDA inspection laws granted in the federal Meat Inspection Act and Regulations
- FSIS directives and verification inspection tasks
- on-site visit interviews with inspection personnel and operator at the establishments
- consultation of the PHIS (Public health information system) web based program and AG learn
- In the establishments visited, audit team consulted
- HACCP plan, pre-requisite programs and standard operating procedure (SOP)
- policies, procedures, formulations, validations and sampling plan
- animal welfare programs
| Competent authority/establishment visits | Number of sites visited | Locations |
|---|---|---|
| Competent authority: central authority | 1 | Washington, DC |
| Competent authority: district office | 1 | Chicago, IL |
| Bovine slaughter/processing establishments | 3 | Kansas, Nebraska |
| Swine slaughter/processing establishments | 3 | Minnesota, Iowa |
| Poultry slaughter/processing establishments | 3 | Georgia, Maryland |
| Meat/poultry processing establishments (including V establishments) | 7 | Michigan, Missouri, Georgia, Illinois |
| I-house | 2 | Michigan |
1.2 Legal basis for the audit and audit standards
The audit was undertaken under the specific provisions of Canadian laws and regulations, in particular:
- the Meat Inspection Act; and
- the Meat Inspection Regulations 1990
The audit was conducted in a manner consistent with conventional program delivery audit standards, and was intended to assess the degree to which inspection activities performed by the CCA were consistent with the regulatory and procedural requirements and specifications.
1.3 Background
The US is eligible to export raw and processed red meat and poultry products to Canada. Between January and December 31 2016, the US exported approximately 217 million kilograms of poultry meat and meat products and 302 million kilograms of red meat and meat products to Canada.
The CFIA had performed an audit of the US' meat and poultry inspection system in 2013. Establishments audited included bovine/swine/poultry slaughter/processing establishments, meat/poultry processing establishments, microbiology laboratory and a district office.
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