USDA Finalizes Salmonella and Campylobacter Standards for Poultry
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finalized standards
that seek to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter in ground chicken
and turkey products, as well as raw chicken breasts, legs and wings.
Part of the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS’) effort to revamp
the poultry inspection system, the new rules require routine sampling
throughout the year rather than infrequent sampling on consecutive
days, and authorize the agency to publicize facility results online.
“Over the past seven years, USDA has put in place tighter and more
strategic food safety measures than ever before for meat and poultry
products. We have made strides in modernizing every aspect of food
safety inspection, from company record keeping, to labeling requirements,
to the way we perform testing in our labs,” said USDA Secretary
Tom Vilsack in a February 4, 2016, news release. “These new standards,
in combination with greater transparency about poultry companies’ food
safety performance and better testing procedures, will help prevent tens
of thousands of foodborne illnesses every year, reaching our Healthy
People 2020 goals.”
By updating its inspection schedule, testing at points closer to the final
product and strengthening pathogen reduction performance standards,
FSIS seeks to achieve at least a 30 percent reduction in Salmonella-related
illnesses linked to chicken parts, ground chicken and ground
turkey. For Campylobacter, it also expects to see a 32-percent reduction
in illnesses linked to chicken parts and ground chicken, and a 19-percent
reduction in illnesses linked to ground turkey.
Meanwhile, U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Louise Slaughter
(D-N.Y.) criticized the standards for failing to address all incidences of
foodborne illness. “While USDA’s initiative in issuing this plan is to be
applauded, the substance falls short in addressing this important public
health issue,” DeLauro was quoted as saying. “The Government Accountability
Office recently identified major flaws in the proposed poultry
slaughter program, so why is USDA proposing we expand the program?
Meat is continuing to leave these processing facilities contaminated
with Salmonella. We should be fixing the source of the problem, not
leaving it up to consumers to guess whether their dinner will send them
to the hospital.” See Rep. DeLauro Press Release, February 4, 2016.
Additional details about new poultry standards appear in Issues 532 and
552 of this Update.
Issue 593
