COVID-19 Infects Some 200 US Food Safety InspectorsCOVID-19 Infects Some 200 US Food Safety Inspectors

May 11, 2020

4 Min Read
COVID-19 Infects Some 200 US Food Safety Inspectors
USDA meat inspectors and graders. Image courtesy of USDA

About 200 inspectors from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have contracted COVID-19 and over 100 are self-quarantining due to possible exposure to the virus, the USDA said in a recent statement. 

As of May 5, 197 FSIS inspectors have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 120 were quarantining, a Minneapolis Star-Tribune report said. Three inspectors have died from the virus.

“Our dedicated personnel are still meeting all of their inspection responsibilities so that consumers can continue to enjoy a safe supply of meat and poultry products,” a USDA spokesperson told the newspaper. 

During the pandemic, food processing and meatpacking plants have become known as COVID-19 hotspots. As the virus spread throughout the country, the number of food safety inspections conducted by the USDA and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have dipped significantly.

recent investigation by USA Today found that only eight FDA food facility inspections were carried out in April, though the agency normally does 900 inspections per month on average. Reporters found that USDA food recalls dropped to an average of 10 per month to two in April. 

FSIS is responsible for the safety of America’s meat, poultry, and processed egg products. 

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union representing the FSIS inspectors, said in a Fox News article that social distancing in meat plants is impossible because of high worker density and said the USDA is failing to provide inspectors with personal protective equipment (PPE).

“Every day there are inspectors going into facilities where there are known positive COVID-19 cases,” the union’s acting chairwoman, Paula Schelling, told the broadcaster. “People are still going in there and doing inspection.”

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