FSIS Announces Study of Effect of Increased Poultry Line Speeds on Worker Safety

On January 31, 2022, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia granted USDA’s motion for remand in a case challenging the issuance of line speed waivers to certain establishments participating in the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS). The remand allows USDA to reconsider the poultry line speed waivers in light of the time-limited trials it implemented for swine establishments participating in the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System.

Since the issuance of the order, USDA has explored various approaches to determining how it can best assess the impact of increased line speeds on worker safety. As part of the process, USDA engaged in discussions with relevant stakeholders, including worker safety advocates and industry. Based on these discussions and our experience with the time-limited trials, FSIS is modifying the NPIS line speed waiver process to facilitate a study on the effects of increased line speeds on worker safety, which will inform future rulemaking. The study will include evaluation of monthly worker safety data submitted by all establishments that receive a modified waiver to continue to operate at up to 175 birds per minute (bpm), as well as on-site visits to a subset of establishments by the contracted worker safety experts.

Poultry establishments with existing line speed waivers received a letter today with information about the study and how to apply for the modified waiver. Establishments with a current line speed waiver must agree to participate in the study and provide worker safety data in order to receive a modified waiver. Establishments have until September 1, 2022, to let FSIS know whether they consent to participate in the study, and until September 30, 2022, to submit the initial requested worker safety information.  

If an establishment refuses to participate in the study or provide the worker-safety information, then its waiver will be terminated. Termination will occur after a 60-day grace period after the close of applications, for establishments that do not submit an application, or after the date of the denial of an application, for establishments whose application is denied, in order to allow those establishments time to adjust to a maximum line speed of 140 bpm. FSIS retains discretion, based on its case-by-case review, to grant or deny any waiver application on any basis permitted by law. For establishments that receive modified waivers as study participants, the existing line speed waivers will sunset once all of the applications have been reviewed and modified waivers are ready to be granted. The modified poultry line speed waivers will continue at least through the end of the study.

USDA will work closely with poultry establishments to address any questions they have about the study and the “modified” waivers. Eligible establishments interested in applying can submit their request through askFSIS.

Oregon Signs Cooperative Agreement for State Meat Inspection Program

FSIS and the state of Oregon have finalized a cooperative agreement, under which the state inspection program may inspect meat products produced for shipment within the state.

Under the cooperative agreement, the state inspection program must enforce requirements “at least equal to” those imposed under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA).

With the addition of Oregon, 28 states now have state inspection programs. In states with inspection programs, establishments have the option to apply for federal or state inspection and product produced under state inspection is limited to intrastate commerce. FSIS reviews, at least annually, each state MPI program and its requirements and activities. FSIS provides up to 50% of the state's operating funds, as well as training and other assistance.

In addition to Oregon, FSIS has signed state inspection agreements with Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Visit the FSIS website for more information about state inspection programs.

FSIS Onboarding Additional Countries to PHIS Export Component

Starting September 26, 2022, export certificates for meat and poultry products (excluding casings and egg products) exported to French Polynesia (Tahiti), Turks and Caicos Islands, and St. Vincent and Grenadines will be generated in FSIS’ Public Health Information System (PHIS).

All export certificates (FSIS Form 9060-5 series) generated through PHIS will be digitally signed and printed by industry personnel with PHIS access. FSIS inspection program personnel will print only upon request when industry does not have a functional printer or PHIS access (see FSIS Notice 22-22 for more information on printing procedures). All attestations as documented in the FSIS Export Library for French Polynesia (Tahiti), Turks and Caicos Islands, and St. Vincent and Grenadines will be captured in the FSIS Form 9060-5 remarks section or the FSIS Form 9060-5B (continuation sheet). 

Industry is encouraged to use the Industry Test Environment (ITE) to test application submittals for export to French Polynesia (Tahiti), Turks and Caicos Islands, and St. Vincent and Grenadines. Please note that Electronic Authorization (eAuth) level 2 is required for all persons that will access PHIS, for both the test environment and the live production environment. Login credentials expire for those who have not used PHIS in 60 days. For those new to PHIS-export or with an expired eAuth level 2, please log in to initiate, update, or complete the eAuth level 2 and PHIS enrollment process.

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 askFSIS with policy questions regarding these changes. Technical questions can be directed to PHISTechnicalQA@usda.gov.

FSIS Updates Research Priorities & Studies List

FSIS makes science-based, data-driven decisions to inform regulations and policy so that consumers have access to safe meat, poultry, and egg products. FSIS identifies research needs to develop a list of the top food safety research areas of interest, key data gaps, and laboratory methods that are needed to fulfill the mission. This list is updated each year.

This year, FSIS has added one new research priority, four new studies, one data gap, and two laboratory methods.

The new priority and studies are as follows:

New Priority: 

Develop bioinformatic methods for identifying epidemiologically meaningful patterns in whole genome sequence data. 

Study associated with new priority:

Develop a user-friendly, scalable and flexible bioinformatic pipeline for analyzing bacterial genome populations at different scales of resolution, and for incorporating features from the accessory genome.

New studies under existing priorities:

• Pathogen characterization: Exploratory sampling for Salmonella in raw poultry products after release from the establishment and prior to reaching consumers. 
• Intervention strategies: Generate data on consumer attitudes and safe food-handling behaviors to update public education and outreach materials.
• Intervention strategies: Generate data on consumer interpretation of raw product safety-based food labels to understand what types of label modifications might be most impactful in driving adherence to safe food handling practices.

New Data Gaps

• Assess serotype-specific and dose-response risks associated with Salmonella in poultry.

New Laboratory Detection Methods

• In-plant sampling methods for recovering Salmonella and Campylobacter from turkey carcasses.
• Use MALDI mass spectrometry coupled with a detection system for the rapid serological classification of Salmonella sp. and/or Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) from solid agar matrices.

For more information, please visit the Food Safety Research Priorities & Studies webpage.

FSIS Posts FY2023 Public Health Regulations

Today, FSIS posted the fiscal year (FY) 2023 Public Health Regulations (PHR) detailed report on how FSIS determines PHRs and their thresholds.

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.

FSIS Posts Quarterly Sampling Data

FSIS has updated the following quarterly sampling data sets:

• Quarterly U.S. National Residue Sampling Report – Residue sampling data is available for the third quarter (April, May, and June) of fiscal year (FY) 2022. The report covers domestic (scheduled and inspector-generated) and import sampling programs. 
• Quarterly Sampling Results - The quarterly sampling data has been updated to include results through the third quarter of FY2022. 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 sampling results for raw beef, raw pork, raw chicken, raw turkey, processed eggs, and ready-to-eat products.
• Quarterly Sampling Reports on Antimicrobial Resistance Profile - 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, through the third quarter of FY2022.
• Quarterly Sampling Reports for Salmonella Serotype Information - This post includes quarterly Salmonella serotype data for Salmonella isolates collected from FSIS product categories. This release includes serotype data through the second quarter (January, February, and March) of FY2022.

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 4451.5 - FSIS Recognition Coins

Export Requirements Update

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

• Jordan
• United Arab Emirates
• Solomon Islands
• New Caledonia
• French Polynesia (Tahiti)
• Hong Kong
• India
• New Zealand
• Western Samoa (Samoa)
• Vietnam
• South Africa
• Tunisia
• Mauritius
• Singapore
• Korea
• Japan
• Canada
• Ecuador
• Morocco
• European Union
• Curacao
• Taiwan
• Guatemala
• Mexico
• Colombia
• Malaysia

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