
Constituent Update - July 1, 2022
FSIS Announces Cooperative Agreement on Salmonella Risk Assessments
FSIS announced in October 2021 the development of a stronger and more comprehensive food safety framework for the control of Salmonella in poultry. This week, FSIS has signed a cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland’s Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in partnership with EpiX Analytics, to develop two quantitative risk assessments — one for Salmonella in chicken and one for Salmonella in turkey. These risk assessments will provide FSIS with support for the new framework for reducing Salmonella illnesses attributed to poultry consumed in the U.S.
The risk assessments will address the following risk management questions:
- What is the public health impact (change in illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths) achieved by eliminating at receiving a proportion of chicken (or turkey) contaminated with specific levels of Salmonella and/or specific Salmonella subtypes?
- What is the public health impact (change in illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths) achieved by eliminating final product contaminated with specific levels of Salmonella and/or specific Salmonella subtypes?
- What is the public health impact of monitoring/enforcing process control from re-hang to post-chill? Monitoring could include analytes such as Enterobacteriaceae, Aerobic Plate Count, or other indicator organisms, analysis could include presence/absence or levels and the monitoring could also include variability of actual result versus expected result, log reduction, absolute sample result, or other individual establishment specific criteria.
- What is the public health impact of implementing combinations of the risk management options listed above?
In general, risk management questions are developed when planning risk assessments and are used to guide the development of risk models that provide relevant information useful for weighing the public health benefits of policy options. These risk management questions reflect the information needed to evaluate and compare the public health benefits of policy options for controlling Salmonella in poultry.
The risk assessments will undergo an independent peer review. FSIS will release the risk assessments once completed.
July Fourth is for Fireworks, not Foodborne Illness
With the Fourth of July on the horizon, there’s no better time to be mindful about food safety practices to keep friends and family safe.
Raw meat and poultry should always be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature to prevent illness. However, FSIS’ recent study showed only 55% of participants used a food thermometer while grilling to confirm whether their food was fully cooked. Undercooking food isn’t the only food safety risk at home — factors like poor hygiene and sanitation, cross-contamination, improper storage, and leaving food out at an unsafe temperature for an extended amount of time are also major risk factors for harmful bacterial growth and foodborne illness.
View FSIS’ recent press release for key food safety tips to practice this Fourth of July weekend:
- Clean and sanitize
- Avoid cross-contamination
- Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold
- Use a food thermometer
For more food safety information, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854), email MPHotline@usda.gov or chat live at ask.usda.gov from 10am - 6pm ET, Monday through Friday. Pre-recorded food safety messages are also available on the hotline 24/7 in English and Spanish.
FSIS Posts FY2021 Foodborne Illness Outbreak Investigations Summary Report
A summary of foodborne illness outbreaks investigated during FY2021 is now available on the FSIS website. This report summarizes outbreaks investigated by FSIS during FY2021, including the number of outbreaks, the number of outbreaks that resulted in a product recall, implicated products, as well as information on pathogens and illnesses. The annual report also highlights lessons learned from outbreak after-action reviews.
FSIS, in collaboration with public health partners, investigates outbreaks of foodborne illness to determine if there is an association between FSIS-regulated products and human illnesses. FSIS and partners work to determine the specific products making people sick so they can be removed from commerce to prevent additional illnesses.
Previous annual reports, after-action review reports for specific outbreaks, and more information about FSIS outbreak investigations are also available on the FSIS website.
FSIS to Post Updated Establishment-Specific and Country-Level Datasets
On July 1, 2022, FSIS will post quarterly updates to establishment-specific datasets on inspection tasks and the country-level import volume dataset on the agency’s website. For the establishment-specific datasets on inspection tasks, FSIS will update the following: (1) Livestock humane handling inspection tasks; and (2) poultry good commercial practices inspection tasks. For the country-level import volume dataset, FSIS will update import volumes by country and product.
Although the agency would also typically publish establishment-specific datasets on laboratory sampling the first Friday of the quarter, FSIS is currently reviewing public comments received on sample dataset and data documentation to inform the proposed expansion of this dataset as announced in the May 6, 2022, Constituent Update. FSIS will announce a revised date for the publication of these datasets in a future Constituent Update.
FSIS to Post FY2023 Public Health Regulations
On July 1, 2022, FSIS will post the fiscal year (FY) 2023 Public Health Regulations (PHR) list and the corresponding thresholds on its website. The PHRs will go into effect on October 1, 2022. A detailed report on how FSIS determines PHRs and their thresholds will be posted later in July.
FSIS annually updates its PHRs. FSIS uses a number of decision criteria described in Directive 5100.4 to prioritize establishments for Public Health Risk Evaluations (PHREs), including PHR noncompliance. FSIS has analyzed current data and has developed the FY2023 list of PHRs, including the thresholds used to prioritize establishments for PHREs and to alert inspection personnel of elevated PHR noncompliance levels.
More detailed information about PHRs as well as archived PHRs by fiscal year are available at FSIS Public Health Regulations.
Policy Update
FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available on the FSIS Policy webpage. The following policy updates were recently issued:
FSIS Notice 35-22 - Mandatory Training on the Employee Role in the USDA Enterprise Performance Management Application System
FSIS Notice 36-22 - 2022 Mileage Reimbursement Rates - Midyear Adjustments
FSIS Directive 10100.1 - FSIS Cecal Sampling Under the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) Surveillance Program - Revision 2
FSIS Directive 10800.1 - Residue Sampling, Testing and Other Verification Procedures under the National Residue Program for Meat And Poultry Products - Revision 3
Export Requirements Update
The Library of Export Requirements has been updated for products for the following:
- Chile
- South Africa
- Morocco
- Egypt
- Kuwait
- Tunisia
- China
- Benin
- Mauritius
- Mexico
Complete information can be found at the FSIS Import & Export Library.