August 4, 2021

 

New USDA guidelines for controlling pathogens in beef and poultry unveiled

 

 

The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has released new guidance documents for controlling beef and raw poultry pathogens.

 

The FSIS Inspection Program Personnel (IPP) announced the availability of the new guidance at weekly meetings with establishment management. The agency regulates 6,500 production facilities in the United States. Many of these facilities produce beef and poultry products.

 

The "references are guidelines, not requirements," FSIS told inspectors. They'll be available until at least August 1, 2022. Compiance determinations will continue to hinge on "regulatory compliance."

 

Half of the guidelines address the most severe problem facing federal meat inspection — salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria that account for more than 70% of the foodborne illnesses tracked by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

Salmonella and Campylobacter, mostly from chicken and turkey, are responsible for three million illnesses, costing US$6 billion annually. National health goals call for reducing those numbers, but FSIS has not moved the meter in 20 years.

 

The FSIS guidelines for controlling Campylobacter and salmonella in raw poultry were drafted in 2015 and published as final documents six years later, on July 28, 2021.

 

FSIS claims the guidelines will help poultry establishments, including small and very small ones, identify and implement pre- and post-harvest interventions to control Campylobacter as part of their HACCP systems.

 

Additionally, the new Campylobacter guidelines will help poultry establishments with microbial testing for monitoring performance and making decisions.

 

The salmonella guidelines also claim they will help with pre- and post-harvest interventions to control the pathogen as part of a HACCP programme. Microbial testing help is also cited as a benefit.

 

Guideline documents released for beef, including veal, are designed to minimise Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. Slaughter and processing operations are found in separate guidelines.

 

- Food Safety News