Kerri B. Harris

About the author: Kerri B. Harris is executive director of the International HACCP Alliance at Texas A&M University. The International HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) Alliance helps provide a uniform program to assure safe meat and poultry.

Federal meat inspection laws initiated in the last century and continually updated make the meat industry the most highly regulated food industry in the country. Daily inspections of processing plants and packing establishments by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) employees ensure the safety of American meat. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) rule, which became part of the federal inspection laws on July 25, 1996, requires the reduction of Salmonella and E. coli pathogens in meat and the development and implementation of a...