Poultry groups question whether the proposed regulation has a scientific basis.
North American poultry groups are concerned that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the country’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) published in 2024 the regulations it proposes to implement to reduce Salmonella contamination and related illnesses associated with raw poultry products.
According to FSIS, the regulation is the result of a three-year effort to reassess its strategy for controlling Salmonella levels in poultry. This is based on the fact that, while Salmonella contamination in poultry products has decreased, no reduction in illness has been observed. “Too many consumers are getting sick from poultry products contaminated with Salmonella, and this regulation marks a historic step in combating this threat,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “This is a systematic approach to addressing Salmonella contamination in the slaughter and processing of chickens, which includes enforceable standards to produce safer food for consumers.”
The proposed regulation establishes final product standards to prevent raw chicken and turkey parts containing any Salmonella at levels above 10 CFU/g of at least one serovtype of public health significance from entering commerce. The proposed serovars for chicken products are Enteritidis and Typhimurium, and for turkey products are Hadar, Typhimurium, and Muenchen. The regulation would also require poultry establishments to develop a microbial monitoring programme to prevent pathogen contamination throughout the slaughter system.
According to Ashley Peterson, Vice President of the National Chicken Council (NCC), “while we support changes to food safety regulations that are based on sound data and have been shown to have a positive impact on public health, we are concerned that this proposal is not grounded in either. Furthermore, the proposal has the potential to significantly increase the price of chicken at a time when Americans are already grappling with inflation in every aspect of their lives.”
For its part, the National Turkey Federation (NTF) has stated that it believes FSIS already possesses the authority and regulatory tools necessary to drive food safety improvements without implementing a final product standard, but will review the proposed regulation in order to submit comments. According to the federation, “as we delve deeper into the Salmonella framework, we are committed to continuing our engagement with FSIS to develop comprehensive strategies that advance this critical priority while also reflecting our concerns.”
As for FSIS, Dr. Emilio Esteban, its Under Secretary for Food Safety, in addition to indicating that the new regulation is based on scientific data, encouraged all stakeholders to submit comments and relevant data on the matter within a 60-day period, i.e., before October 2024.
For more information: USDA Finalizes Policy to Protect Consumers from Salmonella in Raw Breaded Stuffed Chicken Products