- Last month, Representatives Steven Womack (Arkansas) and Tracey Mann (Kansas) introduced a bill which, if passed, would prevent USDA from finalizing, implementing, administering, or enforcing the proposed rule “Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products.” 89 Fed. Reg. 64678 (Aug. 7, 2024).
- Under the proposed rule, raw poultry containing 10 or more colony forming units (CFU) of any Salmonella and any detectable level of Salmonella serotypes of public health significance would be considered adulterated under the Poultry Products Inspection Act. If the standard is finalized, it would also be accompanied by routine USDA sampling and verification testing for Salmonella. The proposal would also require that poultry slaughter establishments develop and implement written procedures to prevent contamination by enteric pathogens throughout the entire slaughter and dressing operations and maintain records documenting those procedures.
- The bill was introduced the same week that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report noting that USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) had paused work on several microbial adulterant standards to work on the Salmonella framework and recommending that the agency develop a plan to prioritize its proposals and determine which standards are needed.
