Private food inspections not working, House finds

A U.S. House subcommittee released a report this week saying private food inspections have not worked, and helped contribute to the ongoing Peanut Corp. of America salmonella outbreak.

The firm hired its own safety inspector to observe the conditions at its Blakely, Ga., processing facility. PCA knew when the inspectors would arrive and further investigations have revealed the inspector was often unprepared to test for salmonella, and other common viruses.

The Food and Drug Administration allowed private food processors to hire their own inspectors because regulators could not keep a routine schedule for these inspections, and state regulatory agencies face similar budget constraints in filling these positions.

It is believed that private food inspectors have missed nearly all of the major food-borne viral outbreaks in at least the last five years, including this and the ground beef recall last year.

The Associated Press reports: “There is an obvious and inherent conflict of interest when an auditor works for the same supplier it is evaluating,” said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee. He termed it a “cozy relationship.”

Inspectors, the House sub-Committee found, are not required to report any of their findings, should they somehow be able to detect the presence of a virus at a processing facility. Furthermore, private food companies are not even required to hire their own inspectors.

Not only was the facility in Georgia a shambles, health inspectors also found nearly 50 dead mice and birds at a PCA facility in Texas, too.