FSIS Highlights 2021 Accomplishments in Protecting Public Health

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced key achievements for 2021 that highlight progress in its mission to prevent foodborne illness and protect public health:

• FSIS is taking steps toward developing a stronger and more comprehensive framework to address Salmonella in poultry that will more effectively reduce human illness related to these products. It will be responsive to evolving food safety hazards and will embrace the latest science and technology.
• FSIS recognizes how critical small and very small plants are to the Nation’s food supply. In July 2021, FSIS implemented a provision of The American Rescue Plan Act that reduces overtime and holiday inspection fees paid by small and very small plants, including those that have adapted to the pandemic by extending their hours of operation. The provision permits FSIS to reduce fees paid by small establishments by 30 percent and very small establishments by 75 percent. By December, 2,421 small and very small establishments were receiving reduced rates with approximately $17.4 million in fee reductions.
• FSIS is committed to ensuring a transparent and public process to develop labeling regulations for meat and poultry products made using animal cell culture technology.
• USDA has begun a top-to-bottom review of the “Product of USA” label that will help to determine what that label means to consumers and inform planned rulemaking.
• In 2021, the agency continued to adapt to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic by prioritizing the health and safety of its employees while ensuring that it can continue to meet its food safety mission.
• FSIS has made strides in its efforts to foster an inclusive workplace where individuals are respected, trusted, valued, and work together collaboratively to achieve agency goals. FSIS is currently providing hiring and retention incentives for Public Health Veterinarians and is offering incentives in FY 2022 for Food Inspectors and Consumer Safety Inspectors.
• FSIS collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to meet the agency’s goal to improve coordination of federal food safety efforts, including data sharing.

For more details, please read the full press release here.

FSIS Posts FY 2022 Annual Plan

FSIS has posted to its website the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Annual Plan. The annual plan details the ways the agency will achieve its fiscal year goals, which include preventing foodborne illness and protecting public health; transforming inspection systems, policies, and scientific approaches; and achieving operational excellence.

For more details, please view the FY 2022 Annual Plan here.

FSIS to Post Updated Quarterly Sampling Results

On January 28, 2022, 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. This posting includes percent positive results for Siluriformes in addition to sampling results for raw beef, raw pork, raw chicken, raw turkey, processed eggs, and ready-to-eat products.

The sampling results will be available here.

FSIS to Post Quarterly Sampling Reports for Salmonella Serotype Information

On January 28, 2022, FSIS will post quarterly Salmonella serotype data for Salmonella isolates collected from FSIS product categories.

This release includes serotype data through the fourth quarter of FY2021 and is available on the Quarterly Sampling Reports on Salmonella web page. The next report update with serotype data through the first quarter of FY2022 will be released in April 2022.

In coordination with public health partners, FSIS transitioned to Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and discontinued the use of PFGE for Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), and Campylobacter in 2019. Salmonella serotyping is a method for grouping different types of Salmonella based on the bacterium’s surface structures. Previously, FSIS used a molecular serotyping assay to provide serotype. On January 1, 2020, FSIS updated its method to using WGS to provide Salmonella serotype.

Comparing one quarter to another, or even one year to another, would be insufficient to draw meaningful conclusions. For this reason, aggregate information in these tables should be considered descriptive.

FSIS to Post Updated Quarterly Sampling Reports on Antimicrobial Resistance Profile 

On January 28, 2022, the quarterly antimicrobial resistance data for FSIS product categories will be updated on the FSIS website. FSIS also will post antimicrobial resistance data for cecal samples.

This data release includes the sampling projects and pathogens reported under the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS). It also includes the antimicrobial resistance data on pathogens Salmonella, Campylobacter, Enterococcus, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), including E. coli O157:H7, isolate counts and resistance profile by FSIS product and cecal categories.

Additionally, the release includes antimicrobial resistance data through the fourth quarter of FY2021 and is available on the Microbiology web page under Antimicrobial Resistance. The next report update with antimicrobial resistance data through the first quarter of FY2022 will be released in April 2022.

Antimicrobial resistance is an extremely complex pathogen characteristic. Comparisons between one quarter and another, or even one year and another, would be insufficient to draw meaningful conclusions.  For this reason, aggregate information in these tables should be considered descriptive.

The NARMS is an interagency, collaborative partnership with state and local public health departments, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This surveillance system tracks changes in antimicrobial susceptibility of select foodborne enteric bacteria found in ill people (CDC), retail meats (FDA), and food animals (USDA). The NARMS program at USDA-FSIS focuses on two sampling points—samples collected from food products, and intestinal (cecal) content samples. The NARMS data helps to assess the nature and magnitude of antibiotic resistance in bacteria recovered at different points along the farm-to-fork continuum.

Export Requirements Update

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

• Mexico
• European Union
• China
• Vietnam

Complete information can be found at the FSIS Import & Export Library.