Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine
Chapter 1: Food Service Sanitation
Section IV: Inspection of Food Items

1-25. Inspection of Meats and Poultry.

Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

1. The Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act provided for the inspection as an official service of the USDA of all meats, meat products, poultry, and poultry products intended for interstate shipment. All products prepared in the United States and purchased by the Armed Forces as part of the ration must have originated in plants under the supervision of an agency of the USDA or USDC and be so marked with the approval stamp of that agency (see Figure 1-2) to be acceptable.

2. Meats, meat products, poultry and poultry products destined for resale or for use in nonappropriated fund activities must be purchased from approved plants operating under the supervision of an agency of the USDA or under an acceptable State inspection system. To be acceptable, a State inspection system must afford health protection and safeguards to the consumer which are at least equal to those provided by the Federal systems. The adequacy of the State inspection system must be determined by the regional U.S. Army Veterinarian. All suppliers of food must be listed in one of the publications named in Paragraph 1-6 above or the Directory of Sanitarily Approved Food Establishments. The directory may be obtained through the major Army medical command responsible for the area of concern. Products from State inspected plants can only be sold and transported within the State in which they were produced.

3. The U.S. Army Veterinary Service does not duplicate in-plant inspections performed in the U.S. by Federal and State agencies. However, they do perform surveillance inspections at the point of delivery, issue or sale. In overseas areas where meats, meat products, poultry or poultry products cannot be obtained from plants under Federal or State inspection systems, the U.S. Army Veterinary Service provides inspection services at foreign plants. These approved plants are listed in the Directory of Sanitarily Approved Food Establishments.

4. Guidelines for receipt and inspection of meats and poultry may be found in NAVSUP PUB 486 and NAVSUP PUB 421.

Figure 1-2. Inspection Stamps of the Department of Commerce, The Department of Agriculture, and The Department of Defense