How NASA Testing Changed US Food Inspection Forever

The 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak prompted the FSIS to add 160 inspectors and to adopt Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), a system pioneered by NASA food scientist Paul Lachance that shifts testing from finished products to controlling production processes. HACCP replaced the “poke and sniff” method, enabling systematic prevention of contamination in high-throughput meat processing.