Possible meat inspector furloughs months away

Meat inspectors who could be furloughed under the automatic spending cuts that went into effect Friday — known as sequestration — will continue to work for at least “several” more months.

That’s according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who at a House Agriculture Committee hearing Tuesday said notices are being sent out to unions this week notifying them that furloughs are possible. Worker notification is a required step before any such cost-cutting measures go into effect.

That means meatpacking plants will have a few months before facing the threat of a temporary closure. Vilsack said such facilities cannot operate unless an inspector from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is present.

“Eighty-seven percent of the budget [in food safety] is front line inspectors and the support system for those front line inspectors,” he said. “No matter how you slice it, no matter how you dice it, there is nothing you can do without impacting the front line inspectors.”

“We will do everything we can to minimize the disruption,” he continued. “But based on the way the sequester is structured, it will impact food inspection.”

For consumers, furloughs could mean a temporary shortage or higher prices. Fewer inspectors on duty would mean fewer beef, pork, poultry or egg products could be processed.

The American Meat Institute, an industry lobbying group, has previously warned that furloughs could mean billions of dollars in lost sales for meat companies and contended that Vilsack had a legal obligation to provide inspection services.

“It is incumbent on the secretary to examine the options available and develop a plan to provide inspection services ... in order to satisfy the duty imposed on him,” Patrick Boyle, the group’s chief executive, said in a statement.