The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is extending the deadline for comments on a proposed rule that would ban poultry producers from selling chicken or turkey that is contaminated with high levels of certain types of Salmonella bacteria.
November 7 is the new deadline for comments on the proposed rule on reducing Salmonella in raw chicken products. FSIS decided to extend the original 60-day feedback period at the request of industry. Once comments are received, USDA will begin drafting the final rule.
rule A ban on the sale of chicken, chicken parts, ground chicken, and turkey found to be contaminated with certain strains of Salmonella will be enforced by USDA’s FSIS.
The proposed rules have been in the works for more than three years. No implementation date has yet been set. Industry groups, individual producers and consumer groups have submitted comments.
In late July, the USDA announced plans to establish finished product standards to keep Salmonella levels at or above 10 colony-forming units (CFU) per gram/milliliter and to ensure that at least one Salmonella serotype of public health significance is not distributed at detectable levels.
The rule also prescribes efforts by poultry facilities to develop microbial surveillance programs to prevent pathogen contamination during the slaughter process.
Salmonella causes about 1 million cases of illness in the U.S. each year, according to the USDA, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FSIS also estimates there will be 125,000 cases of chicken-related illnesses and about 43,000 cases of turkey-related illnesses in 2021.
Led by the National Chicken Council, industry groups are opposed to the proposed rules.
“We remain committed to further reducing Salmonella and fully support food safety regulatory changes that are based on sound science and solid data and have been demonstrated to have a positive impact on public health,” said NCC Interim Chairman Gary Kusher. “But we are concerned that this proposal is not based on any of that. Instead of sound science and solid data, the proposed rule continually references agenda-driven activist organizations to justify these sweeping changes.”
Consumer groups have generally supported the 149-page proposal as a step forward for public health.
Studies have found that 29 percent of salmonellosis cases in the United States are caused by Salmonella in poultry. According to Consumer Reports (CR), Salmonella contamination in chickens is widespread, in part because birds are raised in crowded, unsanitary conditions. Salmonella from live birds can contaminate chickens and chicken parts during the carcasses being sold to consumers.
“2022 CR SurveyFor example, nearly one-third of ground chicken samples tested were found to contain Salmonella, and of those, 91 percent were contaminated with one of the three strains that pose the greatest threat to human health: Salmonella infantis, Salmonella typhi, and Salmonella enteritidis, according to Consumer Reports.
of Federal e-Rulemaking Portal It’s available for anyone who wants to comment.
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