March 28, 2016

USDA seeks to discard redundant trichina-control requirements for pork

The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has proposed the consolidation and streamlining of existing regulations for meat and poultry products, eliminating redundant trichina-control requirements for pork and pork products.

The proposed rule would also consolidate regulations for thermally processed, commercially sterile meat and poultry products (canned food products containing meat or poultry). It would remove the provisions for the prescribed treatment of pork products. FSIS' Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations require every federally inspected establishment to identify and control food safety hazards that are reasonably likely to occur, making prescriptive trichinae regulations no longer necessary.

Under the proposed rule, establishments would still be required to control for the risk of trichinae and other parasites. FSIS' HACCP regulations require establishments to develop science-based controls for trichinae that are appropriate for the hazards identified for each specific establishment. FSIS said compliance with its HACCP guidelines has proven effective at eliminating trichinae, and that the risk for Trichinella infection associated with commercial pork has decreased substantially.

Should the proposed rule become final, FSIS has developed a compliance guide to help establishments, particularly small and very small establishments, understand the controls that are effective for the prevention and elimination of trichinae and other parasites in RTE and not ready-to-eat (NRTE) pork products. This guidance, it said, is consistent with international Trichinae standards including those developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

FSIS has requested comments on the proposed rule and on the proposed guidance.