GAO report raps USDA inspections

The public is at risk for illnesses from tainted meat and poultry because the government is not doing enough to oversee slaughterhouses and processing plants, congressional investigators said Thursday.

Agriculture Department officials said they had identified many of the problems cited by GAO and have taken steps to correct them.

The report follows complaints by some lawmakers that USDA, through its Food and Safety Inspection Service, has not adequately explained how it handled a recall this summer of 19 million pounds of contaminated hamburger meat.

The report asks Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to see that inspectors do their jobs and that plants react promptly to correct violations, the Associated Press reported.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said in a statement, "Such clear evidence that food safety regulations are not being enforced is alarming to say the least."