Constituent Update – August 2, 2024

Constituent Update - August 2, 2024

USDA Proposes New Policy to Reduce Salmonella in Raw Poultry Products

As announced in the July 29, 2024, Special Alert Constituent Update, FSIS issued a comprehensive proposed rule and determination to more effectively reduce Salmonella contamination and illnesses associated with raw poultry products. This is the culmination of FSIS' three-year effort to reevaluate their strategy for controlling Salmonella rates in poultry and protect American consumers from foodborne illness linked to consumption of poultry products.

Salmonella bacteria cause over 1 million human infections in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Food is the leading source of Salmonella infections and poultry is among the leading sources of foodborne Salmonella illnesses. FSIS estimates that there are 125,000 chicken-associated and almost 43,000 turkey-associated foodborne Salmonella illnesses per year. Despite FSIS data indicating that Salmonella contamination in poultry products has been decreasing, there has not been an observed reduction in Salmonella illnesses.

The proposal would establish final product standards to prevent raw chicken carcasses, chicken parts, ground chicken, and ground turkey products that contain any type of Salmonella at or above 10 colony forming units (CFU) per gram/ml and any detectable level of at least one of the Salmonella serotypes of public health significance from entering commerce. The proposed Salmonella serotypes of public health significance identified for raw chicken carcasses, chicken parts, and comminuted chicken are Enteritidis, Typhimurium, and I,4,[5],12:I:- ; and for raw comminuted turkey are Hadar, Typhimurium, and Muenchen. The proposal would also require poultry establishments to develop a microbial monitoring program to prevent pathogen contamination throughout the slaughter system.

Since 2021, FSIS initiated several activities designed to gather data and information to inform the framework proposed rule and determination. These activities included charging the National Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Food to provide guidance on the types of microbiological criteria the agency might use to better prevent Salmonella infections associated with poultry products; conducting a risk profile for pathogenic Salmonella subtypes in poultry and developing two quantitative risk assessments; hosting a public meeting and several roundtables; conducting an exploratory sampling program for young chicken carcasses to generate microbial data; and adding quantification to FSIS' Salmonella testing program.

The Salmonella framework proposed rule and determination builds on FSIS' continued efforts under the Biden-Harris Administration to protect American consumers, including preventing false and misleading label claims. As part of this effort, earlier this year, FSIS published a final determination to declare Salmonella an adulterant in raw breaded stuffed chicken products when they exceed the threshold of 1 CFU per gram of Salmonella contamination. FSIS also announced this year a final rule allowing the voluntary "Product of USA" claim to be applied only to those FSIS-regulated products that are derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.

The proposal will publish in the Federal Register on August 7, 2024. Comments on this proposal must be received by October 7, 2024, within 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Comments may be submitted online via the federal eRulemaking portal, available at www.regulations.gov; by mail sent to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 3758, Washington, D.C. 20250-3700, or by hand or courier delivery to 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Jamie L. Whitten Building, Room 350-E, Washington, D.C. 20250-3700. All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must include the agency name and docket number FSIS-2023-0028.

FSIS Updates Salmonella Detection Laboratory Methods

FSIS is modifying the step in the method used to confirm Salmonella presence in regulated products. To enhance laboratory efficiency, FSIS is replacing one of the differential plating media that is used to isolate Salmonella from other enteric microorganisms. Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate (XLD) agar will replace Brilliant Green Sulfa (BGS) agar in the confirmation section of the Salmonella laboratory method (Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook [MLG] Chapter 4.14). XLD agar is a well-established media that provides better fit-for-purpose colony growth and identification of Salmonella over BGS in the high-throughput environment of FSIS field service laboratories. This change is expected to allow for quicker identification of Salmonella colonies, which will reduce result reporting times for samples with competing bacteria that can make identification more difficult. We do not expect this update to FSIS' internal laboratory procedures to affect overall Salmonella potential or confirmed positive rates.

Further, FSIS will begin using the Neogen® Molecular Detection System (MDS) platform (formerly 3M™ MDS) to screen food animal cecal samples for the presence of Salmonella as part of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS, MLG Chapter 31.01). This change will add efficiency by harmonizing with rapid screening technologies currently used by FSIS to detect foodborne Salmonella in regulatory samples. NARMS is a collaborative partnership with state and local public health departments, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the FSIS. NARMS partners monitor humans, food animals, and retail products for the presence of foodborne pathogens that are resistant to antimicrobials such as antibiotics.

The necessary updates to MLG chapters 4 and 31 will become effective on August 12, 2024. The "Notice of Change" page included at the front of each revised MLG chapter will describe the changes made throughout the document.

FSIS laboratories conduct initial rapid screens to detect if samples are potentially contaminated by a regulated foodborne pathogen. FSIS laboratory analysts confirm any potentially positive rapid screen results by performing additional tests to isolate and definitively identify the suspected pathogen.

Please visit the FSIS website for a list of third-party validated test kits that official establishments can consider for use to meet regulatory requirements for pathogen testing.

FSIS to Publish Updated Product Laboratory Sampling Datasets

FSIS will update the establishment-specific laboratory sampling datasets to increase transparency by adding additional variables and publishing in a format that is easier to use, model, and visualize starting in October 2024. The existing product laboratory sampling datasets are published at the FormID level, with each row consisting of a unique FormID. Each new commodity dataset will be broken up into two datasets, and instructions for joining the datasets will be provided in the data documentation.

FSIS plans to release this dataset in an open, non-proprietary JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format, consistent with requirements set by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. The JSON file contains relevant data documentation in addition to the data, and guides that explain how to access JSON files using Excel are available on the FSIS website under the drop down tab labeled "JSON File Guide." Data will be broken out by fiscal year (FY), starting with data from FY 2014 (starting on October 1, 2013) through the most recent FY and updated on a quarterly basis.

Prior to publishing the updated datasets, FSIS is seeking comments on a sample dataset until September 13, 2024. While the provided sample is for the Raw Beef Sampling dataset, these changes will be applied to all product establishment-specific laboratory sampling datasets. To comment, visit Regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting comments to Docket FSIS-2014-0032. Because Regulations.gov does not support the JSON file type, a PDF with a link to the sample dataset is posted on Regulations.gov and the sample dataset is available on the FSIS website.

Establishments can access their data using the "Industry Sampling Results for Primary Establishment Number Detailed" report within the Public Health Information System (PHIS). FSIS plans to release the new datasets on the routine scheduled date of October 4, 2024. Subsequent postings will follow the regular posting schedule for establishment-specific datasets. New datasets are released the first Friday of the next quarter with a quarter lag, meaning data for FY 2024 Q4 (i.e., July, August, September 2024) are planned to be released January 3, 2025, data for FY 2025 Q1 (i.e., October, November, December 2024) are planned to be released April 4, 2025, and so forth.

Available for Public Comment

FSIS seeks public comments on proposed rules and notices, which are viewable on the FSIS Federal Register & Rulemaking webpage. FSIS is currently seeking comments on the following:

• Until August 20, 2024: Notice of Request To Renew an Approved Information Collection: Foodborne Illness Outbreak Investigation Survey for FSIS Public Health Partners
• Until August 26, 2024: Availability of Guidance for Residue Prevention
• Until September 20, 2024: Notice of Request To Renew an Approved Information Collection: Petitions for Rulemaking

Export Requirements Update

The Library of Export Requirements has been updated for products for the following:

• United Kingdom
• Mexico
• South Africa
• Namibia
• Canada
• Chile
• Japan
• El Salvador
• Dominican Republic
• China
• Jamaica
• European Union
• Colombia
• Singapore
• North Macedonia

Complete information can be found at the FSIS Import & Export Library.

Last Updated: Aug 02, 2024