The Potential Consequences of Public Release of Food Safety and Inspection Service Establishment-Specific Data

"Public release of regulatory data is motivated by two broad purposes. The first addresses the public’s right to know about the actions of government. The second, “targeted transparency”, seeks to use information disclosure as a means of achieving specific public-policy objectives. The committee concluded that both those purposes are relevant to the desire of FSIS [Food Safety and Inspection Service] to release establishment-specific data and that an effective disclosure policy will contribute to increased transparency to stakeholders. In addition, releasing establishment-specific data might also favorably affect public health...."