- amicus
Before the current lawsuit was filed, USDA’s then-Under Secretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears, defended the inspection modernization program, saying: “The modernization of swine slaughter inspection ensures a safe product on your dinner table because every hog and carcass is inspected by USDA inspection personnel, as mandated by Congress. The valued USDA mark of inspection is applied by federal inspectors only on meat that is safe to eat.”
Brashears and then-Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue were originally named as defendants in the swine lawsuit. They’ve been replaced by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who implemented the poultry modernization program when he ran USDA for President Obama.
If all the writing does not do it, Judge White’s recent order does say: “The Court shall issue an order setting a hearing if it determines it is unable to resolve the motions on the papers.”
Editor’s note: This article was updated to note the possibility that a hearing might be scheduled after all written arguments are concluded.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)