Congressional and Public Affairs
(202) 720-9113; FAX: (202) 690-0460
Andrea McNally

FSIS Requests Comments on Plan to Make Salmonella Testing Results Available on Web Site

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2003--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service today announced and requested comments on its plan for releasing the results of agency Salmonella set testing.

On July 25, 1996, FSIS published its landmark Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Rule, which, among other things, established pathogen reduction performance standards for Salmonella for establishments that slaughter livestock and poultry or produce ground meat and poultry products. FSIS currently conducts an ongoing testing program, performed in sets, to determine compliance with these performance standards for livestock and poultry carcasses and in raw ground meat and poultry products. FSIS makes the results of this testing available to individual establishments upon completion of each sampling set.

FSIS is now requesting comments on its intention to make the results of its Salmonella performance standard testing available to establishments on a sample-by-sample basis, allowing establishments to more readily identify and respond to process control deficiencies. FSIS also intends to post the aggregate results of all completed sampling sets on its web site to give consumers more complete and timely information about Salmonella trends.

More information about FSIS' intentions to make public its Salmonella testing is available online in the Federal Register notice at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/01-040N.htm. Written comments should be submitted on or before May 16 to the FSIS Docket Room, Docket 01-040N, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton Annex Building, 300 12^th Street SW, Washington DC, 20250-3700.

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For Further Information, Contact:
FSIS Congressional and Public Affairs Staff
Phone: (202) 720-9113
Fax: (202) 690-0460

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