I worked over 40 years in the meat industry, most of it in cooperation with the USDA. They are W O R T H L E S S! One of the discussions I would have with inspectors was their relevance. “We protect the food system!” was the canned response from any and all personnel. My comeback was “and who gets sued for tainted product. You??” CYA paperwork and long naps in their offices seemed to be the MO.
Occasionally, we would get Detective Colombo with the white gloves to replace Deputy Fife and stupidity would ensue. “Yeah, you’re gonna have to shut down the whole plant because I found a dead bug in the warehouse.” The daily routine was crossing T’s and dotting i’s under the watchful eye of an inspector. This is the bane of the plant manager.
I’m glad I live in a state that has it’s own meat processor inspection system. I can run up the road and buy meat from a farm that does it’s own processing. A state inspector visits on occasion. USDA has to have a full time inspector at every facility which ain’t cheap. Also, the state inspectors are more lenient here in MO. The prices at that farm aren’t much different than the grocery stores. Nothing is ever on sale however.