USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Services are delaying testing programs to determine whether certain raw chicken products are contaminated with salmonella.
The verification and sampling program for unprepared breadcrumbs and stuffed toy products was originally scheduled to begin on May 1st. It was delayed until November 3rd. The USDA is also delaying the date that facilities must reevaluate their hazard analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans for such products.
For the industry, it is still legal and still legal to knowingly sell salmonella-contaminated chicken. The USDA has denounced President Biden’s delay in testing programs for unprepared bread and stuffed chicken products, saying it is necessary for “competing priorities at the end of the last presidential administration.”
In its announcement regarding the delay, the USDA said additional time is needed to provide additional guidance.
“This additional time is necessary for FSIS (Food Safety Inspection Services) to finalize instructions to inspectors and prepare the inspection program personnel and laboratories for new sampling and testing,” according to a USDA release.
USDA has been working on testing programs for many years and has consulted with the industry about it. The agency spoke to the industry on May 1, 2024 about the final regulations of the program. Federal Register It was declared that Salmonella was adulterous of unprepared breadcrumb stuffed chicken products.
During the six-month delay in the testing program, the USDA will issue an update that will provide sampling instructions and training to inspectors. It has also been reported that delays are necessary to display and provide policy information about the testing program to the new leadership appointed by President Donald Trump.
Although details of the testing program were available in the industry for a year, the USDA says that the delay will allow FSI to “help to comply with the final decision by providing new recommendations on the lottery and products. FSI can issue guidance or provide guidance.”
After the testing program for unprepared chicken products is enabled, FSIS plans to implement the final product standard for all chicken meats regarding contamination with five Salmonella serotypes. The agency published those standards in July 2024.
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