Salmonella Framework Gets the Boot from USDA

The USDA is hatching a different plan after withdrawing a proposed regulatory framework aimed at reducing salmonella outbreaks from raw poultry products. 

Hot off the nest: The agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will no longer require companies to reduce salmonella bacteria in products beyond current requirements. That reverses a proposal from the Biden administration. 

The framework would have required companies to limit bacterial colonies to a certain threshold. 

The National Chicken Council was an outspoken critic of the new framework. The NCC said poultry producers would have been burdened by unnecessary regulations that may not actually reduce outbreaks. It would have also led to significant amounts of food waste, the council said. 

Contamination concerns: Consumer advocates expressed that abandoning the framework poses a risk to consumer health. Salmonella contamination leads to over 1.35M human infections annually: 125K and 43K cases were associated with chicken and turkey, respectively.

FSIS had been gathering information since 2021 before releasing a proposal in August 2024. And abandoning the framework appears “premature,” according to one former USDA deputy undersecretary for food safety. 

FSIS said it does not intend to put salmonella risk reduction to the wayside. Instead, further consideration is needed before updating industry standards. 

Soundbite: “While FSIS continues to support the goal of reducing salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products, the agency believes that the comments have raised several important issues that warrant further consideration.” — USDA FSIS