FSIS No Longer Accepting Poultry Line Speed Waivers

On March 20, 2020, FSIS stopped accepting additional requests for poultry slaughter line speed waivers.  Based on the waivers FSIS has approved, the agency will have enough data from establishments to assess and determine whether to move forward with rulemaking.

All waivers that FSIS recently responded to were received between August 8, 2019 and February 21, 2020. For each waiver request, the agency followed its review process and evaluated the request based on a set of criteria. FSIS aimed to complete its review of waiver requests in about 60 days.  While FSIS granted some wavier requests, the agency also denied some requests.

FSIS Announces New Deputy Administrator

FSIS has named Terri Nintemann as Deputy Administrator. Terri has been serving as the Acting Deputy Administrator since March 12, 2020. She has held several leadership roles since she joined the Agency in 2003. Most recently, Terri served as the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Policy and Program Development. Prior to that, she was the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Planning, Analysis and Risk Management, where she led efforts to modernize the Agency’s approach to data analysis and sharing. Terri came to FSIS after 17 years of working in the Senate and House, including as Legislative Director for the Senate Agriculture Committee and the lead expert on food safety issues.

FSIS Posts Updated Quarterly Sampling Results

On April 30, 2020, the sampling results for FSIS regulated products will be updated on the FSIS website. Quarterly, FSIS calculates prevalence, volume weighted percent positive, or percent positive calculations for microbial pathogens in FSIS regulated products that are currently sampled through existing sampling projects using the prior 12 months of sampling data. Sampling results are available for raw beef, raw pork, raw chicken, raw turkey, processed eggs, and ready-to-eat products. The updated sampling results will be viewable on the Microbiology page.

Policy Update

FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available at their respective libraries. The following policy update was recently issued:

• FSIS Notice 20-20 - Sampling Supplies to Include Non-Sterile Examination Gloves

Export Requirements Update

The Library of Export Requirements has been updated for the following countries:

• Canada 
• China, People's Republic of 
• Costa Rica 
• Egypt
• European Union 
• Iraq
• Jamaica 
• Korea, Republic of 
• Kuwait
• Mexico 
• Panama 
• Peru 
• South Africa