Well, I don't think it would be right for me to comment on how much time they spend doing one thing versus the other, but we certainly know that their job is a combination of both. You cannot stop walking the floor, inspecting equipment, etc. But the meat industry today is not what it was 20 years ago. The equipment has changed. Processes have changed. All our members, for instance, are going to annual conferences. We hold annual symposiums. Education is a very big part of what we have to do at the Meat Council, as far as working with our members goes, and the same is true for inspectors. But in this particular case, with the new listeria rules, many of our members do hire food scientists, Ph.D.s, and veterinarians. Many people in our facilities are very highly trained, and they want to make sure, especially given the very onerous rules, that the samples are being taken properly so that they won't be subjected to some improperly held product or false positives because someone simply isn't familiar enough with the aseptic sampling techniques.
On May 13th, 2009. See this statement in context.