FSIS Announces Countries that Continue to be Eligible to Export Siluriformes Fish and Fish Products to the United States

Consistent with the final rule on inspection of Siluriformes, after Sept. 1, 2017, countries that exported Siluriformes fish and fish products to the U.S. and that wished to continue were required to submit a completed self-reporting tool (SRT) and supporting documentation showing the equivalence of their Siluriformes inspection systems to that of FSIS by March 1, 2018. Only those countries with complete SRTs that FSIS has determined met equivalence documentation requirements will be scheduled for in-country audits and can continue shipping Siluriformes fish and fish products to the U.S. As of March 1, the list of countries that are eligible to export Siluriformes fish to the U.S is available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/inspection/inspection-programs/inspection-siluriformes. 

FSIS published the final rule for Siluriformes fish inspection on Dec. 2, 2015. The final rule provided for an 18-month transitional period that began on March 1, 2016 and ended Sept. 1, 2017. During the transitional period, FSIS worked with foreign countries who were exporting under the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) jurisdiction and wished to continue to export Siluriformes fish to the United States.

The final rule can be found at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2020-08/2017-0024.pdf.

FSIS Updates the Ready-to-Eat Testing Program Annual Report

FSIS has updated the regulatory microbiological testing program report for Ready-to-Eat (RTE) meat and poultry products for calendar year 2017. Previous RTE reports from 2016 and previous years can be accessed in the drop down menu.

The RTE testing program results can be found at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/science-data/data-sets-visualizations/microbiology. All questions should be submitted to http://askfsis.custhelp.com/.   

FSIS Updates the Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook

FSIS is updating the Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG) method for preliminary and confirmatory testing of regulated products for Staphylococcal Enterotoxin (SET). The VIDAS® SET assay will now be used as the SET screening assay and the RIDASCREEN® SET TOTAL assay will be used as the SET confirmation assay. Individual enterotoxin identification will no longer be performed as part of MLG 39 because a suitable toxin identification assay has not been identified. MLG 39.02 will be archived and replaced with version 39.03.

FSIS intends to begin using the updated method 30 days after the publication of this Constituent Update. To review the guidebook and to read the MLG 39.03 Notice of Change, visit https://www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/publications/microbiology-laboratory-guidebook.

FSIS Expands National Residue Program to Egg Products

FSIS stated in the 2018 National Residue Program (NRP) that the Agency is validating multi-residue methods in egg products. FSIS has recently completed the validation of the pesticide multi-residue method for liquid and powdered egg products. As a result, the Agency intends to begin sampling egg products for pesticides testing as part of the NRP starting in 2018. A link to the updated pesticides method is available at: Screening for Pesticides by LC/MS/MS and GC/MS/MS.

E. coli Testing Update

FSIS posts biweekly updates of the Agency’s raw ground beef E. coli sampling program, which includes testing results of raw ground beef component samples for E. coli O157:H7 and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STECs) from FSIS routine and follow-up sampling programs. Data are also presented for non-O157 STECs by each non-O157 STEC serogroup.

Between June 4, 2012 and Feb. 25, 2018, FSIS laboratory services analyzed a total of 22,005 beef trim samples (17,981 domestic and 4,024 imported), 4,632 routine follow-up samples (4,518 domestic and 114 imported), and 364 non-routine follow-up/traceback samples. Two-hundred and eleven samples were found to be positive; 126 were domestic trim samples, eleven were imported trim samples, 70 were domestic follow-up samples, and four were non-routine follow-up/traceback samples. To date, three samples have been positive for both O157:H7 and at least one non-O157 STEC strain, and eleven samples have been positive for two different non-O157 O-groups.

To review testing results, visit the E. coli data tables at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/science-data/data-sets-visualizations/microbiology.

Policy Updates

FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/directives-notices.  The following policy updates were recently issued:

• Notice 12-18 - Instructions for Kidney Dispositions in Poultry Carcasses
• Notice 13-18 - Inspection of Closed-Face Sandwiches for Export to Canada

Export Requirements Updates

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

• Chile
• Colombia
• Paraguay

Complete information can be found at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/inspection/import-export.