The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is set to enhance the transparency of its Meat, Poultry and Egg Product Inspection (MPI) Directory and the Establishment Demographic Data (MPI Supplement) files. These planned improvements are aimed at providing more detailed and accessible information about food establishments.
Key enhancements include the addition of more establishment demographic variables and precise geolocation details, such as latitude and longitude, to uniquely identify each establishment. This move is part of FSIS’s ongoing efforts to increase transparency in food safety and inspection processes.
Significantly, FSIS will expand the reporting of slaughter subclasses. Animals previously grouped under “Other Meat,” such as buffalo, bison, and elk, will now have their own independent categories. Additionally, information on ratite (large, flightless birds) slaughter will be included, with each subclass being appropriately classified.
Another notable update is the inclusion of data on the harvesting and processing of cell-cultured products. This data will be categorised by inspection type (e.g., “Meat” or “Poultry”) and activity type (e.g., “Harvest” or “Processing”).
FSIS will also start identifying exemptions in slaughter or processing, classified by class (“Meat” or “Poultry”) and type (“Custom Slaughter,” “Custom Processing,” “Retail,” or “Religious”). This is a significant step towards providing more comprehensive information about the various types of food processing activities.
Furthermore, the MPI Supplement will now specify the species processed by an establishment, with examples including “Ready-To-Eat Chicken” or “Raw Intact Turkey.”
In terms of accessibility, the MPI Directory will continue to be available in PDF format. Both the directory and the supplement will also be accessible to the public in an open, non-proprietary CSV format, ensuring that the information is easily obtainable and usable.
FSIS is currently welcoming comments on sample datasets and data documentation until February 16, inviting stakeholders and the public to contribute to this initiative.
