Making sure food passes the bar: ASG-Ku Veterinary Services inspect the Middle East

Photo By Sgt. Maj. Michael Noggle | Sgt. 1st Class David Villa inspects a bad batch of lettuce.  

11.10.2005

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub       

Spc. Michael R. Noggle
CFLCC PAO/11th PAD

They're every food plant's and prime vendor's worse nightmare; they travel throughout the Middle East holding corporations to the standards of those in the United States.

Area Support Group-Kuwait Veterinary Services, stationed at Naval Support Activity-Bahrain, inspects all products sold to the United States armed forces from where the food is produced till the product is delivered to its final destination.

The veterinary team's main mission is ensuring the safety of food and water for servicemembers and families, said Maj. Donald Beckett, ASG-K Veterinary Services commander.

With more than 160 plants to inspect and three prime-food vendors, most of the focus stays on the food inspection.

"Every company gets inspected by us before they can sell to the United States Army," Beckett said. "We make sure all the proper controls are in place to ensure a safe product."

Before the plants and vendors are inspected, each company is required to fill out a questionnaire. The majority of the survey consists of how the plant or vendor conducts operations, their sanitation policy and employee training.

"These are all common procedures that we found in all food plants," Beckett said. "We are failing plants frequently for not meeting our standards â?¦ Any plants or corporations that don't meet the standard aren't allowed to sell to the U.S. Army."

"All inspections are conducted thoroughly," said Sgt. 1st Class David Villa, food inspector. "We keep our eyes on defective products, but we're also looking for the approved products."

"It's better to catch the problem now before it hits the ship decks or shelves at the commissary," said Sgt. Robert Watkins, food inspector.

Once the plants and vendors are approved, the product is delivered to the destined ship or base in theater.

The trucks get inspected as well, Villa said. If food were to get loaded in a truck that smells like gasoline then the food will taste terrible; no one is going to eat that.

Upon arrival to NSA or any destination in the country, Watkins goes to the location and inspects the product once more, looking for expiration dates or defective items. He will also visit the food stores on bases or ships to make sure they aren't selling those items that are expired or have efficiencies.

On a weekly basis, most of the unit travels to other countries to conduct scheduled inspections, Watkins said. Dairy, poultry, seafood and meat plants are inspected on a quarterly basis while all bakeries and the majority of liquid plants are inspected semi-annually.

They look at the product when it comes onto the base and put on the shelf, Beckett said. There is a lot involved between getting the food from the plants to the shelves and there are places where the sanitation might not be right or they may be trying to deliver a product that is not approved or a product that has been stressed for some reason.

"We're the final check before it gets on the shelves," he said.

With little manpower, the unit is responsible for inspecting 11 countries and visits at least once a month, if not multiple times, Beckett said. Some people don't realize the role the unit has in force protection. These troops work day and night to ensure the safety and quality of all the food.

"When you think of the number of people they impact from their day to day actions, every Sailor who's on the ship, every person who eats and buys food on NSA and the entire product that transitions from the prime vendor warehouses on its way to Afghanistan, they're the ones who are doing that work," Beckett said.

He added, "They're responsible for everyone's safety and are the final defense against any kind of problems."

• Date Taken: 11.10.2005
• Date Posted: 11.10.2005 15:01
• Story ID: 3697