July 26, 2010

Some US poultry processors are worried that the new standards for salmonella could make it more difficult to both meet US and Russian export requirements to the Russian market.

The US government is preparing the launch of more stringent performance standards as early as next month. According to sources, the USDA is proposing that in order to maintain a "category one" status, a US plant under the new regulations would have to go from proving that no more than six out of 51 tested samples contains salmonella, to a new standard where no more than two out of 51 can contain salmonella. "Category two" plants can still do business but carry a stigma, while "category three" plants are not allowed to produce.

"Industry groups have filed comments on this proposal, and it is still subject to change," a private-sector source said. One source said it was unclear whether processing plants will be able to meet this new standard without using chlorine rinses, although another source expressed confidence this would be possible.

At the start of this year, Russia banned the use of poultry chlorine rinses, and the US and Russia last week signed a deal allowing the use of three other compounds to reduce the presence of pathogens. Under the terms of the deal, US plants will still be able to use chlorine rinses to clean processing equipment, so long as it does not come in contact with poultry.

US industry sources generally argue that these three alternative compounds are less effective and are more expensive than chlorine, although they were willing to make the switch in order to resume shipping to the lucrative Russian market.