October 27, 2021

USDA-FSIS reveals stronger effort to mitigate salmonella illnesses linked to poultry products

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a stronger and more comprehensive effort to reduce salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products.

The agency is initiating several activities to gather data and information necessary to support future action and move closer to the national target of a 25% reduction in salmonella illnesses.

Despite consistent reductions in the occurrence of salmonella in poultry products, more than one million consumer illnesses due to salmonella occur annually, and 23% of those illnesses are due to consumption of chicken and turkey.

USDA intends to seek stakeholder feedback on specific salmonella control and measurement strategies, including pilot projects, in poultry slaughter and processing establishments.

A key component of the approach is encouraging pre-harvest controls to reduce salmonella contamination coming into the slaughterhouse. The data generated from pilots will be used to determine if a different approach could reduce salmonella illness in consumers.

- National Association of Farm Broadcasting / American Farm Bureau Federation