US pork inspectors will stop cutting open lymph nodes and feeling organs

US food safety regulators want to stop requiring inspectors to cut open lymph nodes and feel the organs of every pig carcass. They say visual inspection is enough to catch diseases, and the current methods are not needed to ensure food safety.

For decades, every pig carcass went through the same physical inspection process. This change means inspectors will rely more on their eyes and less on their hands. It frees up inspector time and could speed up processing lines, but it also shifts the burden of detection more onto visual cues.