USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service will hold two virtual public meetings for stakeholders on December 3rd and 5th respectively to be announced formally in the Federal Register.
The FSIS has extended the comment period relating to the proposed Salmonella standard to January 17, 2025. The far-reaching proposal would restrict levels to ten colony forming units per gram of product with specific reference to one or more designated serotypes of Salmonella.
The highly contentious rule is was developed by FSIS in response to the claimed 125,000 chicken-associated and 40,000 turkey-associated cases of salmonellosis each year as apparently determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to Dr. Emilio Esteban, USDA Undersecretary for Food and Safety, the Agency believes that the designated Salmonella serotypes can be suppressed by preharvest measures stating, “We know there are things you can do with the water, with the feed, with the way you raise the animals, the environment and vaccination.” USDA has been reluctant to specify measures that will absolutely reduce Salmonella contamination on carcasses to comply with the proposed standard.
It is obvious that attempting to conform to the standard will disrupt ongoing production, require investment in equipment and consumables that may or may not have beneficial effect. If processors are to comply with the proposed standard, batching and assay will be required before release of product. All these measures of doubtful benefit will add considerably to the cost of production and will ultimately be borne by consumers and producers with questionable quantifiable benefit. The USDA-FSIS has not provided the results of pilot studies that confirm that aspects of the proposed rule or its entirety are achievable or that the actions to be taken by the Industry will produce any direct reduction in poultry-associated salmonellosis.
It is possible that the proposed rule will be shelved by the incoming Administration based on impracticality and evident cost.