
Constituent Update - October 25, 2024
FSIS and FDA NARMS Publish Minor Species Antimicrobial Resistance Findings
On October 24, 2024, FSIS’ National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) team, in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) NARMS team, published the findings from their minor species national study in Volume 39 of Sheep and Goat Research Journal. This publication can be accessed from FSIS’ NARMS Webpage.
The analysis describes the nature, types, and extent of bacterial antimicrobial resistance seen in Salmonella, Campylobacter, generic E. coli, and Enterococcus isolated from cecal (gut) contents of goats, sheep, and lambs. The goal of this exploratory study was to characterize antimicrobial resistance patterns and trends in a subset of food animals that have not historically been targeted in NARMS surveillance but are of importance to agriculture and the food supply.
NARMS is an interagency, collaborative partnership with USDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, and state and local public health departments for monitoring changes in antimicrobial resistance in certain enteric/intestinal bacteria.
FSIS Updates Quarterly Humane Handling Datasets
Today, the quarterly humane handling inspection datasets were updated on the FSIS website. The datasets include:
- the number of administrative enforcement actions taken;
- the number of humane handling verification tasks performed;
- the number of humane handling verification tasks that resulted in a noncompliance record (NR); and
- the number of hours spent observing and verifying the humane treatment of livestock.
This posting contains the most recent four quarters of data by district, HACCP size, and quarter.
FSIS Updates Quarterly Sampling Data
FSIS has updated the following quarterly sampling data sets:
- Quarterly Sampling Results: The quarterly sampling reports were updated to include results through the fourth quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2024. 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 has been updated to include import, retail, and follow-up projects that were previously included in the Percent Positive Sampling Reports.
- Quarterly Sampling Reports on Antimicrobial Resistance Profile: Moving forward, FSIS will release product and cecal sampling AMR reports on an annual basis, covering the prior FY of data, on the first Friday in January. Meaning, reports for FY24 product and cecal AMR sampling will be released on January 3, 2025.
- Quarterly Sampling Reports for Salmonella Serotype Information: The quarterly sampling reports for Salmonella serotype information were updated to include results through the third quarter of FY 2024. This post includes quarterly Salmonella serotype data for Salmonella isolates collected from FSIS product categories.
- Quarterly U.S. National Residue Sampling Report: Moving forward, FSIS will release residue sampling data the first Friday of the second month after the start of the new quarter, meaning data for the fourth quarter of 2024 will be released November 1, 2024, data for the first quarter of 2025 will be released February 7, 2025, and so on.
- Percent Positive Sampling Report: Individual sampling reports for Salmonella and Campylobacter, Escherichia Coli in raw beef products, and Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-eat Products and Egg Products have been discontinued. This data is now available in the Quarterly Sampling Results for FSIS Regulated Products as noted above.
Reminder: FSIS to Onboard Mexico in PHIS Export Component
As announced in previous Constituent Updates, starting November 4, 2024, all FSIS meat and poultry product export certificates for products exported to Mexico will be generated, issued and officially maintained in FSIS’ Public Health Information System (PHIS). This change excludes certificates for casings and egg products. The Mexico PHIS Industry Test Environment (ITE) is currently available for testing.
All export certificates (FSIS Form 9060-5 series) generated through PHIS will be digitally signed by FSIS and will be printed on plain paper by industry personnel with PHIS access. These plain paper forms must include the PHIS-generated watermark. Any attestations for Mexico, as documented in the FSIS Export Library, will be captured in the FSIS Form 9060-5 remarks section or the FSIS Form 9060-5B (continuation sheet). The digitally signed FSIS Form 9060-5 series printed on plain paper, with a watermark, and available for validation in PHIS will replace all letterhead certificates for meat and poultry exported to Mexico. Beginning November 4, 2024, no wet-signed 9060-5 series export certificates, including letterhead certificates, will be issued for meat and poultry products for export to Mexico.
Industry is strongly encouraged to use the ITE to test application submittals for export to Mexico. Testing instructions for industry are available on the FSIS website, PHIS Components page, under Information for Industry. Please note that an electronic identification account with identity verification steps is required for all persons who will access PHIS, for both the test environment and the live production environment. User accounts are disabled for those who have not used PHIS in 60 days. For those new to the PHIS export component, please register with Login.gov to initiate, update, or complete the electronic identification account and the PHIS enrollment process. Instructions can be found in the PHIS Industry User Guide, section 2 (Overview of PHIS).
As noted in previous Constituent Updates, industry is strongly encouraged to ensure establishment information in PHIS is aligned with Mexico’s approved establishment list. Misaligned information risks held or rejected shipments upon Mexico’s implementation in PHIS.
For further guidance on PHIS export and enrollment, please refer to the following user guides:
- PHIS Industry User Guide
- Editing 9060 Records Quick Reference Guide
- PHIS Quick Reference Guide for Corporate and Establishment Management
Please contact internationalcoordination@usda.gov with questions regarding these changes. Technical questions can be directed to PHISTechnicalQA@usda.gov.
Available for Public Comment
FSIS seeks public comments on proposed rules and notices, which are viewable on the FSIS Federal Register & Rulemaking webpage. FSIS is currently seeking comments on the following:
- Until November 12, 2024: Availability of FSIS Guideline on Substantiating Animal-Raising or Environment-Related Labeling Claims
- Until November 12, 2024: Notice of Request to Renew an Approved Information Collection: Accredited Laboratories
- Until January 17, 2025: Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products
Policy Update
FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available on the FSIS Policy webpage. The following policy update was recently issued:
FSIS Directive 9900.6 - Laboratory Sampling Program for Imported Meat, Poultry, and Egg Products - Revision 1
Export Requirements Update
The Library of Export Requirements has been updated for products for the following:
- China
- Western Samoa (Samoa)
- European Union
- Japan
- Peru
- United Arab Emirates
- Dominica
- Mexico
- Tunisia
- Azerbaijan
- French Polynesia (Tahiti)
- Barbados
- Solomon Islands
- Korea
- Turkey
- Canada
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Chile
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- St. Lucia
- Qatar
- Turks & Caicos Islands
- Curacao
- El Salvador
- Colombia
- Vietnam
- Costa Rica
- Taiwan
Complete information can be found at the FSIS Import & Export Library.