Tag Archives: Regulatory standards

Pork

USDA FSIS Eyes New Salmonella Standards for Raw Pork Products

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Pork

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is considering new Salmonella performance standards focused on raw pork products, due to concerns about recent Salmonella outbreaks linked to these products. The concerns were raised in a study, “Temporal Changes in the Proportion of Salmonella Outbreaks Associated with Twelve Broad Commodity Classes in the United States,” published by the FSIS in Epidemiology & Infection.

The study examined changes in the proportion of foodborne Salmonella outbreaks attributed to 12 commodity groups between 1998 and 2017. Amongst the 12 commodity groups, only pork demonstrated a significant increasing trend—between 1998 and 2017, the estimated proportion of Salmonella outbreaks attributable to pork increased from 4% to 18%—while the proportion of outbreaks for other commodity groups remained essentially unchanged or constant during the 20-year study period.

“Amongst meat and poultry commodities, the consistent and significant increase in the proportion of pork-associated outbreaks is of concern,” noted authors Michael S. Williams and Eric D. Ebel. “Pork ranks as the third most frequently consumed meat commodity in the United States, yet only the chicken and the fruits–nuts commodities are responsible for a larger average proportion of outbreaks in the later years of the dataset. This suggests that the risk of illness per serving from pork may have increased and is high relative to the other meat and poultry commodities.”

The USDA FSIS will be using the results of this study, in addition to public comments on the proposed performance standards for Salmonella on pork products, to inform the development of new policies targeted to reduce Salmonella illnesses attributable to pork.

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.