Tag Archives: poultry

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USDA Appoints New Members to Food Safety Advisory Committee

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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The USDA has appointed 21 new members and nine returning members to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF). The purpose of the committee is to provide impartial scientific advice and recommendations to federal food safety agencies. Members of the committee are chosen based on their expertise in microbiology, risk assessment, epidemiology, public health, food science and other relevant disciplines. One individual affiliated with a consumer group is included in the membership of the committee and five members are federal government employees representing the five federal agencies involved in NACMCF—USDA FSIS, FDA, CDC, the Department of Commerce National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Department of Defense Veterinary Services.

“NACMCF members bring a wealth of expertise and dedication to the critical mission of ensuring the safety of our nation’s meat and poultry products,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Their contributions will help us continue to strengthen our nation’s food supply and protect the health and well-being of American consumers.”

The newly appointed NACMCF members, who will serve two-year terms are:

  • Dr. Bledar Bisha. University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming
  • Dr. Heather Carleton. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Dr. Anna Carlson. Cargill Protein, Wichita, Kansas
  • Dr. Hayriye Cetin-Karaca. Smithfield Foods, Springdale, Ohio
  • Dr. Ben Chapman. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Dr. Vik Dutta. bioMérieux, Chicago, Illinois
  • Dr. Larry Figgs. Douglas County Health Dept., Omaha, Nebraska
  • Dr. David Goldman. Groundswell Strategy, Arlington, Virginia
  • Dr. Michael Hansen. Consumer Reports, Yonkers, New York
  • Dr. Arie Havelaar. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
  • Dr. Ramin Khaksar. Clear Labs, San Carlos, California
  • Lieutenant Colonel Noel Kubat. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, Fort Knox, Kentucky
  • Dr. KatieRose McCullough. North American Meat Institute, Washington, D.C.
  • Dr. Indaue Giriboni de Mello. Newman’s Own, Westport, Connecticut
  • Dr. Eric Moorman. Butterball, LLC, Garner, North Carolina
  • Dr. Abani Pradhan. University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
  • Mr. Shivrajsinh Rana. Reckitt, Parsippany, New Jersey
  • Dr. Marcos Sanchez Plata. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
  • Dr. Kristin Schill. University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
  • Dr. Nikki Shariat. University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
  • Dr. Abigail Snyder. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

The returning NACMCF members are:

  • Dr. Yaohua (Betty) Feng. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
  • Ms. Janell Kause. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Washington, D.C.
  • Dr. Elisabetta Lambertini. Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Washington, D.C.
  • Ms. Shannara Lynn. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Seafood Inspection Laboratory, Pascagoula, Mississippi
  • Dr. Maxim Teplitski. International Fresh Produce Association, Washington, D.C.
  • Dr. Bing Wang. University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Dr. Benjamin Warren. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, College Park, Maryland
  • Dr. Randy Worobo. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
  • Dr. Teshome Yehualaeshet. Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama

NACMCF will hold a virtual public meeting of the full committee and subcommittees from November 14, 2023, to November 16, 2023. In addition to welcoming the new members, the committee will introduce a new charge from FSIS on genomic characterization of pathogens and continue working on the response to the FDA’s charge on Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula. Register here to attend the meeting.

 

Listeria
From the Editor’s Desk

Detection, Mitigation and Control of Listeria and Salmonella: What We Know and Where We’re Heading

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Listeria

The detection and mitigation of foodborne illness-causing pathogens continue to be a challenge for all aspects of the food industry from farm to fork. Join Food Safety Tech and the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention at the Fawcett Center at The Ohio State University on April 3-5 in Columbus, Ohio, for three days of food safety hazards education.

The Food Safety Tech’s Hazards Conference + CFI Think Tank brings together leading minds in industry and academia for two days of practical education on the detection, mitigation, control and regulation of key food hazards, followed by discussion geared toward identifying gaps for research and innovation. The program includes:

The USDA’s Proposed Approach to Salmonella Control in Poultry Products

Sandra Eskin

Sandra Eskin, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA

Sandra Eskin leads the Office of Food Safety at the USDA, overseeing the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which has regulatory oversight for ensuring that meat, poultry and egg products are safe, wholesome and accurately labeled. Prior to joining USDA, Eskin was the Project Director for Food Safety at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C. She also served as the Deputy Director of the Produce Safety Project (PSP), a Pew-funded initiative at Georgetown University from 2008-2009.

Salmonella: What We’ve Learned and Remaining Gaps in Detection and Mitigation

Barbara Masters

Barbara Masters, Vice President, Regulatory Policy, Food & Agriculture, Tyson Foods

Dr. Masters is the Vice President of Regulatory Policy, Food and Agriculture at Tyson Foods, Inc., where she provides regulatory vision and support for food safety and quality policies and procedures. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Partnership for Food Safety Education and the Steering Committee for the Global Food Safety Initiative. Dr. Masters spent nine years as a Senior Policy Advisor at Olsson Frank Weeda, where she worked closely to advise with the meat and poultry industry to ensure regulatory compliance, and served as Administrator of the USDA FSIS.

The Legal and Financial Risks of Food Safety Hazards

Bill Marler

Bill Marler, Food Safety Attorney, Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm

An accomplished attorney and national expert in food safety, William (Bill) Marler has become the most prominent foodborne illness lawyer in America and a major force in food policy in the U.S. and around the world. Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, has represented thousands of individuals in claims against food companies whose contaminated products have caused life altering injury and even death.

Shawn Stevens, attorney with the Food Industry Counsel, LLC

Shawn Stevens

Stevens is a nationally recognized food attorney and founding member of the Food Industry Counsel who has dedicated his firm to “Going All-In for Food and All-Out for Those Who Produce It.” He works closely throughout the U.S. and abroad with food industry clients (including the world’s largest growers, processors, restaurant chains, distributors and grocers) helping them protect their brand by complying with FDA and USDA food safety regulations, reducing food safety risk, managing recalls, and defending high-profile food safety cases.

 

Mitigating the Risks of Salmonella and Listeria in Your Facility & Products

Sanjay Gummalla

Sanjay Gummalla, Vice President, Regulatory & Technical Affairs, American Frozen Food Institute

Gummalla has broad industry experience in food science, food safety, and nutrition. He is in the forefront of coordinating Listeria monocytogenes prevention and control programs and policy efforts on behalf of the frozen food industry. Prior to joining the American Frozen Food Institute, Gummalla served as VP of product development at Zentis NA. He currently serves on key committees representing the industry, including advisor on the U.S. Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee for Processed Foods, a committee member on IAFP’s Journal of Food Protection, President of the Capital Area Food Protection Association, and chair of the International Food Science Certification Commission.

Rashmi Rani, Senior Manager of Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Schwan’s Home Delivery

Rashmi Rani

Rani has more than 18 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. In her current role she manages food safety programs, QMS, SQF of Florence facility, USDA and FDA compliance, and training. She works with cross functional teams on continuous improvement projects including reduction of nonconformance product cost and rework cost reduction. Prior to joining Schwan’s, Rani worked with AB-Inbev, BakeCo, McCormick Inc. and Wornick food (Baxter’s North America).

 

Registration is now open

Application of Ozone for Decontamination of Fresh Produce

Al Baroudi

Al Baroudi, Ph.D., Vice President of Quality Assurance & Food Safety, The Cheesecake Factory

In addition to his current role, Dr. Baroudi has conducted workshops, published White Papers and introduced the HACCP program to developing countries on behalf of the U.S. government. He is the recipient of Borden’s “President Award”, the Sani “Food Safety Champion Award”, and the “Outstanding Food Safety Program Innovation Award,” and the Southern California IFT “Distinguished Achievement Award.” In 2022, NR News named, Dr. Baroudi as one of the top 50 most influential restaurant executives in the country, and The NRA presented him their inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for “Outstanding Leader in Food Safety.” He was instrumental in passing the Food Facilities Sanitization Bill “AB 1427” in the California State Assembly that cleared the way for the ozone to be approved in California Cal Code (2012).

Ahmed Yousef, Ph.D., Department of Food Science & Technology, Ohio State University

Ahmed Yousef

Dr. Yousef earned his Ph.D. in Food Science from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before joining Ohio State as an Assistant Professor in 1991. Since the late 1990s, Dr. Yousef and his research team have worked to develop methods to pasteurize shell eggs and to decontaminate fresh produce while maintaining products’ fresh qualities. His ozone research led to developing methods to decontaminate spinach, apples, and other fresh produce. As a result of this research, Dr. Yousef established the largest ozone research laboratory in the U.S. at Ohio State.

Biofilm Prevention and Control Practices

Charles Giambrone

Charles Giambrone, Food Safety Manager, Rochester Midland

Giambrone received his M.S. degree in Microbiology from Rutgers University in 1978, where his research focus was applied and environmental microbiology. In his current and previous roles as VP & Sr. Technical Support Manager for Rochester Midland Corp, he provides applied research and technical support in the whole area of food safety and sanitation including processing and preparation, membrane cleaning, and water treatment systems plus supervision of R & D projects. Giambrone has a broad and in-depth expertise in the areas of hygiene, disinfection, and biocides. This includes working with systems to remove or prevent biofilm formation in food processing and water system lines as well as other applications.

View the full agenda and register here.

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USDA FSIS Publishes 2023-2026 Strategic Plan

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The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) has released its 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, the foundation document for both the long range and day-to-day operations of the agency. The agency announced that the updated plan continues to emphasize the importance of science and data to implement advanced and innovative approaches to food safety.

The plan includes three strategic goals:

Goal 1: “Prevent Foodborne Illness and Protect Public Health,” which focuses directly on FSIS’ public health mission and its activities.

Goal 2: “Transform Inspection Strategies, Policies, and Scientific Approaches to Improve Public Health,” which focuses on improving how the agency conducts food safety activities.

Goal 3: “Achieve Operational Excellence,” which focuses on maintaining and improving the strong internal foundation needed to meet goals 1 and 2.

As part of the primary goal, “Prevent Foodborne Illness and Protect Public Health,” the FSIS specifically plans to:

  • Advance a proposed regulatory framework for its new strategy to reduce Salmonella infections attributable to poultry. FSIS is considering: (1) requiring that incoming flocks be tested for Salmonella before entering an establishment; (2) enhanced establishment process control monitoring and FSIS verification; and (3) an enforceable final product standard. This proposed strategy is aimed at moving the Agency closer to achieving the national target of a 25% reduction in Salmonella illnesses set by Healthy People 2030 and is expected to be in place by May 2024.
  • Strengthen compliance with food safety statutes and regulations by:
    • Regularly assessing domestic food safety systems to determine how well they are maintaining process control as well as leveraging data from the Public Health Information System (PHIS) to identify patterns and trends in noncompliance with FSIS regulations among establishments.
    • Conducting outreach, technical assistance, and information sharing with other countries to improve understanding of FSIS’ regulatory requirements and policies. This is to ensure food safety standards for imported products are equivalent to those of domestic products to reduce foodborne infections attributable to FSIS-regulated products, specifically for Salmonella illnesses attributable to poultry.
  • Improve food safety at in-commerce facilities by using a risk-based approach to target FSIS resources—including resources used for surveillance, investigative, and enforcement activities.
  • Enhance response to outbreaks by improving information sharing and collaboration with public health partners during investigations to remove contaminated product more quickly from commerce.
  • Sustain progress in food defense by assuring that establishments adopt and incorporate food defense practices into their day-to-day operations, and that agency personnel and industry are prepared to respond to an act of intentional contamination.
  • Increase public awareness of recalls, public health alerts, foodborne illness outbreaks, and consumer adoption of safe food handling practices, by identifying the best approaches to influence behavior and deploying proactive strategies based on behavioral science research.
Tyler Williams
FST Soapbox

A Nugget of Welcome News: USDA Adds Salmonella as a Chicken Adulterant

By Tyler Williams
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Tyler Williams

Chicken producers and processors must always pay close attention to listeria and E. coli. Their regulated to-market protocols incorporate intense testing and cleaning standards that help ensure the people who buy chicken sandwiches at fast casual restaurants, chicken fingers at sporting arenas and trays of fresh chicken legs at supermarkets don’t get sick.

The companies stay on top of listeria and E. coli because the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has considered them “adulterants,” or substances that should not be found in meat products, for decades. The federal agency banned listeria in 1987, and in 1994 listed E. coli as an adulterant in the wake of an E. coli outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants that sickened 700 people in four states, and led to 171 hospitalizations and four deaths.

All along, however, another prominent bacteria, Salmonella, remained unregulated, despite its proclivity for making people ill—more than a 1.3 million cases of salmonellosis appear in the U.S. every year, leading to about 26,500 hospitalizations and roughly 400 deaths. It is the No. 1 cause for foodborne illness in the U.S., and most cases stem from chicken products.

But earlier this year the USDA announced that it now plans to consider Salmonella an adulterant in some chicken products. The matter is out for public comment now; if the USDA doesn’t change its clear intention to regulate Salmonella, federal food inspectors soon will be testing for it in select chicken products.

The chicken industry opposes the measure. In a news release issued shortly after the FSIS’ August announcement, the National Chicken Council (NCC) pointed toward the 1957 Poultry Products Inspection Act, which did not include Salmonella as an adulterant, as a set of standards worth upholding today.

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Well, a lot has changed in industrial agriculture during the past 65 years, and that includes a dramatic expansion of chicken farming and consumption across the country. In the 1950s, the average American ate about 16 pounds of chicken a year, compared to 56 pounds of beef and 50 pounds of pork. But by this year, Americans were eating close to 112 pounds of chicken a year, along with 56 pounds of beef and 50 pounds of pork. In terms of meat consumption, chicken now rules the roost. Regulating it might not have been necessary back when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. But today I believe it most definitely is.

As a professional in the food safety industry, I champion the FSIS’ decision. It’s about time the agency added Salmonella to its list of adulterants; the bacteria causes far too much illness and death in the U.S. every year. Many of those cases could have been prevented through regulatory oversight.

Addressing Poultry Industry Concerns

It is true, as opponents of the proposed regulation argue, that Salmonella doesn’t always emerge in the processing plant; humans can inadvertently introduce the bacteria in their own kitchens. Why, the industry asks, should it be penalized for conditions outside of its control? In addition, proper cooking methods will kill Salmonella. If people don’t follow cooking directions on the packages of chicken they buy, and get sick from Salmonella as a result, the chicken industry believes it should not be held accountable.

On the first issue, it is unlikely that cases revolving around individual consumers introducing Salmonella to their chicken products would ever lead to penalties. Federal regulators scrutinize public health data for clusters of outbreaks, which often point toward entire product lines being infected with bacteria; isolated one-off cases, many of which indeed could be the result of human error, do not concern them.

For the second point, yes, people should read labels and closely follow cooking directions. But in my opinion, that is irrelevant; dangerous levels of Salmonella simply should not dwell in foods, and it’s the job of regulators to make sure food is safe.

Toy manufacturers, for example, must eliminate choking hazards from products designed for kids under 3 years, thanks to federal regulations. It shouldn’t be up to parents to constantly monitor their toddlers while they play with toys, to ensure they don’t gag on something potentially dangerous found on the stuffed giraffe.

Should the rule become policy, the FSIS will focus on just one category: stuffed, breaded and raw chicken products. These products, including dishes like chicken Kiev and chicken cordon bleu, often are heat-treated to set the batter or breading, but are not fully cooked. They have been associated with 14 outbreaks and about 200 illnesses since 1998.

This represents a solid start. Next, I’d like to see the FSIS pursue regulating Salmonella in other chicken products. Even if the agency doesn’t, however, many processors will have to implement new practices and testing procedures for all of their products anyway, as in many cases it won’t make sense to just incorporate new protocols within a few discrete product lines. Among other things, I would anticipate boosted commitments among producers and processors to cleaning and sanitation processes, environmental monitoring (probably the most important pursuit) and overall facility food safety measures.

Will this action by the FSIS completely eliminate Salmonella from the targeted products? Absolutely not. The rule sets a maximum threshold for Salmonella in the food the agency tests; in many cases, chicken products that contain negligible amounts of the bacteria will still make it to market. It’s just products containing dangerous amounts of Salmonella that will be subject to penalties.

Food safety serves as one of the foundations of a healthy society. It also reinforces and bolsters public trust in the products consumers buy, which nurtures and strengthens the entire food industry. With this proposed Salmonella rule by the USDA, the U.S. takes another important step toward ensuring the health of its citizens, and further enhancing consumer trust in the chicken products they buy.

Upside Foods Chicken

Lab Grown Meat Passes Key Safety Hurdle on Path to Approval

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Upside Foods Chicken

On November 16, the FDA announced that it had completed its first pre-market consultation for a human food made from cultured animal cells. After evaluating the information submitted by UPSIDE Foods, a company that uses animal cell culture technology to take living cells from chickens and grow the cells in a controlled environment to make the cultured animal cell food, the agency stated that it had no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusion.

In a statement from Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D., and Susan Mayne, Ph.D., director of the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the regulators explained that before this food can enter the market, the facility in which it is made also needs to meet applicable U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and FDA requirements. In addition to the FDA’s requirements, including facility registration for the cell culture portion, the manufacturing establishment needs a grant of inspection from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for the harvest and post-harvest portions as well as a USDA mark of inspection the product itself.

Cultivation Room Upside
UPSIDE Foods Cultivation Room

UPSIDE Foods’ CEO Uma Valeti, M.D., celebrated the news with a mock letter to the chickens of the world. “So what does getting a ‘No Questions Letter’ mean, exactly? It means that the FDA accepts our safety conclusion and UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken will be available following USDA inspection and label approval. It’s an important step on the road to bringing cultivated chicken to the market in the U.S., and gets UPSIDE closer to being on tables everywhere,” said Valeti. “And what does that mean? It means a whole new future is around the corner. And in that future, we might be eating just as much meat as we always have. But a lot fewer animals are going to have to suffer for it.”

Now that the pre-market consultation is completed, the approval process will transition from the FDA to USDA FSIS oversight. USDA FSIS will oversee the post-harvest processing and labeling.

“The FDA is ready to work with additional firms developing cultured animal cell food and production processes to ensure their products are safe and lawful under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,” said Drs. Cardiff and Mayne. “We also plan to issue guidance to assist firms that intend to produce human foods from cultured animal cells to prepare for pre-market consultations. The published draft of this guidance will provide a formal opportunity to the public for comment.”

Salmonella

National Advisory Committee Announces Public Meeting to Discuss Actions on Cronobacter, Cyclospora and Salmonella

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Salmonella

The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) will hold a virtual public meeting on November 15 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm ET to discuss work being advanced by the FDA on Cronobacter spp. in powdered infant formula. The Committee will also discuss updates under the Cyclospora cayetanensis subcommittee and vote on adopting the report: “Enhancing Salmonella Control in Poultry Products.”

NACMCF is an advisory committee, established by the USDA, that provides impartial, scientific advice and/or peer reviews to federal food safety agencies for use in the development of an integrated national food safety systems approach.

The meeting is intended to help the committee gain scientific insight regarding Cronobacter infections, including recommendations for how public health authorities can better protect public health, as well as recommendations for food safety management practices that the food industry can implement to enhance the safety of powdered infant formula.

The meeting will be held virtually using Zoom. Attendees must pre-register to receive a join link, dial-in number, access code and unique Attendee ID. Attendees who would like to deliver comments during the meeting must register by November 8, 2022. Attendees who do not plan to speak at the public meeting may register at any time up to the day of the meeting. The meeting agenda is available on the FSIS events page.

 

Raw chicken breast

USDA Charts Regulatory Path To Reduce Poultry-Linked Salmonella Infections

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Raw chicken breast

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has released a proposed regulatory framework to control Salmonella contamination in poultry products.

In its announcement, the USDA noted that the proposed framework follows months of information-gathering and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, researchers and scientists. It consists of three key components:

  • Requiring that incoming flocks be tested for Salmonella before entering an establishment
  • Enhancing establishment process control monitoring and FSIS verification
  • Implementing an enforceable final product standard.

“We know that Salmonella in poultry is a complex problem with no single solution,” said USDA Deputy Under Secretary Sandra Eskin. “However, we have identified a series of strategic actions FSIS could take that are likely to drive down Salmonella infections linked to poultry products consumption, and we are presenting those in this proposed framework.”

A copy of the proposed framework, which also addresses cross-cutting issues of testing for Salmonella, the impact on small and very small establishments and data sharing, is available online here.

Representatives from industry, consumer groups and other stakeholders are invited to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework by participating in a virtual public meeting November 3 from 10am to 4pm ET via Zoom. To view the agenda and to register to attend, visit the Meetings and Events page on the FSIS website.

Stakeholders can also submit written comments at www.regulations.gov.

Consumer groups are applauding the proposed framework. “This is a historic first step toward final product standards that are science-based, risk-based, enforceable, and effective at protecting our vulnerable loved ones,” said Amanda Craten, board member of STOP Foodborne Illness. “As a parent of a child who suffered from Salmonella illness and is left with permanent injury, I have advocated and engaged in the process to modernize poultry standards to ensure no child has to experience the devastation of a preventable, virulent Salmonella illness. I’m thankful that USDA is making the prevention of illnesses like my son Noah’s a priority.”

Dr. Craig Hedberg, a professor at University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Co-Director of the Minnesota Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence, agrees that this framework “is an important step towards moving away from hazard-based regulation toward risk-based regulation. Focusing on levels of Salmonella and highly virulent strains of Salmonella rather than just the presence or absence of Salmonella should reduce the number of illnesses associated with poultry.”

The USDA FSIS continues to gather scientific evidence relevant to the approaches presented in the proposed framework.

 

Raw chicken breast
Food Genomics

FSIS Rethinking its Approach to Salmonella in Poultry

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Raw chicken breast

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it is rethinking its approach to how it addresses Salmonella in poultry based on the findings of a recent study, ”Assessing the Effectiveness of Revised Performance Standards for Salmonella Contamination of Chicken Parts,” published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology.

Michael S. Williams, et al, examined changes in Salmonella occurrence within the chicken parts industry following implementation of a new set of FSIS standards, announced in 2015 and implemented in 2016.

The standards were chosen based on the assumption that the program would lead to a 30% reduction in the occurrence of Salmonella-contaminated chicken parts samples. While the new analysis showed a much higher than anticipated reduction in Salmonella-contaminated chicken parts (more than 75%), the FSIS notes that this has not translated to a reduction in Salmonella-related illnesses attributable to poultry products.

A Shift in Seasonal Patterns and Salmonella Serotypes

In examining data collected between April 1, 2015 through December 31, 2020, the authors found a significant change in Salmonella serotypes in sampled products, an increase in antimicrobial resistant strains and a shift in seasonal occurrence of Salmonella.

Occurrence of Salmonella in poultry products has traditionally peaked in the summer months. However, in what the authors called one of the most surprising findings of the study, review of data from 2015-2020 showed a mid-winter peak with lower rates of occurrence in the summer.

The study also found that while Salmonella Enteritidis and Kentucky—two of the most common serotypes—decreased significantly, Salmonella Infantis demonstrated a rapid increase from less than 4% of positive samples in 2015 to 25% in 2020. This signals a growing area of concern as a larger portion of Infantis isolates are classified as multi-drug resistant. The authors noted that with no new interventions, “Infantis will likely become the dominant Salmonella serotype in chicken parts.”

The increase of the Infantis serotype as well as the apparent failure of the 2015 standards to reduce the occurrence of Salmonella-related illnesses attributable to poultry products is why FSIS is rethinking its approach to how it addresses Salmonella in poultry. This will include taking a closer look at the agency’s reliance on performance standards, and whether they need to be revised.

FSIS is collaborating with stakeholders and gathering information to develop a multi-step approach to reducing Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products. The agency plans to present a draft framework for a revised strategy and convene a public meeting to discuss it in the Fall.

 

Calf

USDA Targets Transparency and Competition To Promote Fair and Competitive Markets for Livestock and Poultry

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Calf

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced three initiatives that are the first in a suite of major actions under the Biden Administration to create fairer marketplaces for poultry, livestock and hog producers. On May 26, USDA announced a proposed rule that will require poultry companies and live poultry dealers to provide key information contract producers need to make production contract decisions best suited to their businesses. This action is part of a set of significant policy changes USDA is undertaking to achieve the goals of the President’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy.

Second, USDA is seeking input from stakeholders through a separate policymaking action to determine whether the current tournament-style system in poultry growing could be modernized to create a fairer marketplace that allows more producers to participate. And third, USDA released a Competition Report outlining its strategy for enhancing competition in the food and agricultural sectors. With this report, USDA is also announcing plans to complete a top-to-bottom review of programs for alignment with supporting competition and a new review of the most widely used animal-raising claims to help ensure those claims are adequately verified.

“The Packers and Stockyards Act is crucial for protecting farmers and ranchers from excessive concentration and unfair, deceptive practices in the poultry, hog, and cattle markets. But after 100 years, it needs to take modern market dynamics into account,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Increased transparency is the essential starting point for modernizing our rules, protecting producers, and countering the damaging effects of concentration.”

“Agricultural Competition: A Plan in Support of Fair and Competitive Markets,” sets out USDA’s strategies to increase competition through investing in new competitors to address major bottlenecks in the food and agricultural supply chains, in particular meat and poultry processing and domestic fertilizer capacity. It also highlights USDA’s efforts to reinvigorate competition and fair market regulation and oversight, including partnering with the Department of Justice to establish farmerfairness.gov, a joint complaints and tips web portal. The report also highlights USDA’s efforts to enhance value-added competitive opportunities for producers, including the already-announced top-to-bottom review of the “Product of USA” label for beef and a newly announced review of animal-raising claims, among many other strategies and efforts.

Under the proposed rule, poultry companies will be required to make certain disclosures to poultry growers with whom they contract to raise birds, to provide current and prospective growers with the accurate information they need to be make informed business decisions and avoid the risks of deception. Specifically, it would require poultry companies to provide a Live Poultry Dealer Disclosure Document that includes information on bird placements, stocking density, prior litigation with poultry growers, prior bankruptcy filings, and payments realized by other poultry growers in prior years broken out by quintiles to reflect a realistic range of outcomes for different growers. Small live poultry dealers, those harvesting less than 2 million live pounds of poultry weekly, would be exempt from the disclosure requirements of the proposed rule.

Additionally, the proposed rule will provide growers who are paid using a poultry grower ranking system with disclosures around the inputs they receive from the poultry company, at time of placement and at settlement. These placement disclosures will improve growers’ ability to monitor issues and to compete on a real-time basis using the inputs they receive. Settlement disclosures—which show the distribution of the inputs, the housing specification, and any feed disruptions for the growers in the tournament—will help growers understand the relative importance of inputs, housing investments, and skills/efforts in tournament outcomes. In doing so, it will prevent deception and help growers plan and improve their ability to compete and deliver positive outcomes.

The proposed rule is being published in the Federal Register and will be available for public comment. It is currently available for review on USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service website. Stakeholders and other interested parties have 60 days from the date it is published in the Federal Register to submit comments via the Regulations.gov web portal. All comments submitted will be considered as USDA develops a final rule.

The parallel release of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeks public input around additional steps USDA can take to ensure the fair operation of those poultry growing contracts. It seeks input on the fairness of the tournament system overall, as well as on additional ways to address concerns relating to specific practices. In the months ahead, USDA also intends to propose rules that provide greater clarity to strengthen enforcement of unfair and deceptive practices, unjust discrimination, and undue preferences and prejudices, as well as address requirements relating to harm to competition under section 202(a) and 202(b) of the P&S Act.

 

Poulty Farmer

USDA NIFA Invests in Meat and Poultry Agriculture Workforce Training and Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance Across the Food Chain

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Poulty Farmer

On May 26, 2022, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced an investment of $25 million, as part of the American Rescue Plan for meat and poultry agriculture workforce training. NIFA will invest $25 million through new and existing workforce development programs to provide a pipeline of well-trained workers to meet the demand increased independent processing capacity.
“These investments will enhance equity and capacity across the food supply chain by supporting meat and poultry research, education and training at the local level. USDA will leverage its robust regional education and extension networks and establish new, or supplement existing, Centers of Excellence at Minority-serving Institutions to support this capacity-building effort,” said Acting NIFA Director Dr. Dionne Toombs. “Workforce training will increase the resiliency and competitiveness of our local and regional supply chains and support the industry’s urgent need for highly skilled talent to meet labor demands across the country.”

The investment includes two funding opportunities:

  • Extension Risk Management Education and Sustainable Agriculture Research Education Programs: An investment of $5 million will be split equally between Extension Risk Management Education and Sustainable Agriculture Research Education programs. Work in these programs will support development of meat and poultry processing training and educational materials for place-based needs, particularly relevant to small- or medium-sized farmers and ranchers. Additionally, training local and/or regional meat and poultry workers presents a unique opportunity to address the demand from niche markets, like mobile processing units fulfilling market demand from fresh markets, on-site processing, farm-to-fork (restaurateurs), boutique grocers and others.
  • Community/Technical College Ag Workforce Training and Expanded Learning Opportunities: This Agricultural Workforce Training (AWT) investment makes available $20 million to qualified community colleges to support meat and poultry processing workforce development programs. The AWT program seeks to develop a workforce ready for the field as well as industry jobs in the food and agricultural sectors. By creating new workforce training programs, or expanding, improving, or renewing existing workforce training programs at community, junior, and technical colleges/institutes, this program will expand job-based, experiential learning opportunities, acquisition of industry-accepted credentials and occupational competencies for students to enable a workforce for the 21st century.

The NIF also announced an investment of more than $5 million to mitigate antimicrobial resistance across the food chain. “Pathogen resistance to antimicrobials is a complex problem, encompassing human medicine, poultry and livestock health, and even plant crop production,” said Dr. Toombs. “The projects supported through this investment will work to ensure a safe, nutritious and abundant food supply while conserving antimicrobial effectiveness.”
This investment is part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance Across the Food Chain grant program, which supports integrated research, education and extension projects. Research approaches include risk assessment, antibiotic management and stewardship, advancing understanding of emerging resistant pathogens and their mechanisms for resistance, and disease control using antimicrobial alternatives. NIFA’s work contributes to the overall federal strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance as described in the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria National Action Plan 2020-2025.

Nine projects are being funded, totaling $5,117,165. Examples of the funded projects include:

  • Scientists at the University of Florida will study the effects on naturally occurring bacteria when citrus greening disease-infected trees are sprayed with antibiotics to characterize development of antimicrobial resistance. ($299,999)
  • Scientists at the Iowa State University of Science and Technology will model the movement of bacteria through different environments, such as surface and subsurface water, as a route for bacterial movement from animal and human waste to plant crops. ($1,000,000)
  • Scientists in Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University will study the movement of auctioned male calves through the market to better understand the use of antimicrobial drugs to prevent and treat disease. ($999,938)

To sign up for notifications of these and other NIFA funding opportunities visit the NIFA Funding Opportunities page.