In
an effort to update the procedures that the Agriculture
Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service will follow
during recalls and in recognition of the new organizational
structure, FSIS has issued a revised directive.
The directive, called Recall of Meat and Poultry Products,
FSIS Directive 8,080.1, Revision 4, modifies previous
FSIS recall policies.
The significant modifications include:
- Clarification that FSIS
will not issue a press release for Class III recalls
under most circumstances, and no press release will
be issued if the company has recovered 100 percent of
the suspect product before FSIS requests the recall.
In addition, all classes of recall will generate a Recall
Notification Report on the FSIS Web site.
- Press releases (or RNR,
when appropriate) will be sent to the recalling firm
30 minutes prior to its release to the media.
- In the event that the
Under Secretary or FSIS Administrator receives word
of an outbreak of food-borne illness and contaminated
products and no official source is determined, FSIS
may issue a press statement to provide guidance to consumers
and health professionals on the risk of illness and
the associated symptoms.
