Salmonella Verification Testing Program Monthly Posting

Most Recent Posting

May 2, 2021 through April 30, 2022

FSIS posts the monthly reports on the Performance Category of Individual Raw Poultry Establishments and the Aggregate Salmonella Categorization for Raw Poultry Establishments on or about the 20th of the month. For the posting each month in Calendar Year 2022, the reference period for category assessment is:

	Month of Posting	Reference Period
	January 2022	December 29, 2020 - December 26, 2021
	February 2022	February 2, 2021 - January 30, 2022
	March 2022	March 1, 2021 - February 27, 2022
	April 2022	March 29, 2021 - March 27, 2022
	May 2022	May 2, 2021 - April 30, 2022
	June 2022	May 31, 2021 - May 29, 2022
	July 2022	June 28, 2021 - June 26, 2022
	August 2022	August 2, 2021 - July 31, 2022
	September 2022	August 30, 2021 - August 28, 2022
	October 2022	September 27, 2021 - September 25, 2022
	November 2022	November 1, 2021 - October 30, 2022
	December 2022	November 29, 2021 - November 27, 2022
	January 2023	January 2, 2021 - December 31, 2022

FSIS continuously samples (up to five times per month) poultry establishments producing young chicken and turkey carcasses, and raw chicken parts, so that it can more closely monitor an establishment's process control over time. FSIS also continuously samples NRTE comminuted chicken and turkey products for Salmonella.

FSIS uses these Salmonella sampling results to assess establishment performance during a reference period of one completed 52-week moving window based on a 3-category system. Establishments at or below half of the performance standard over the previous moving window are placed in Category 1, those that meet the standard in that period are placed in Category 2, and those that fail the standard in the previous moving window are placed in Category 3.

As FSIS announced in the November 9, 2018 Federal Register, FSIS will post on its website the category status of individual establishments for pathogen reduction performance standards for Salmonella in young chicken carcasses, young turkey carcasses, raw chicken parts, and NRTE comminuted chicken and turkey products, based on FSIS verification sampling results from one 52-week window, but not to include follow-up sampling. As the Federal Register outlines, the category definitions under verification sampling are as follows:

Category 1: Establishments that have achieved 50 percent or less of the maximum allowable percent positive during the most recent completed 52-week moving window.
Category 2: Establishments that meet the maximum allowable percent positive but have results greater than 50 percent of the maximum allowable percent positive during the most recent completed 52-week moving window.
Category 3: Establishments that have exceeded the maximum allowable percent positive during the most recent completed 52-week moving window.

Individual windows are defined as 52 consecutive Sunday-to-Saturday weeks. Category status is determined based on 52 weeks of data, i.e., the last completed 52-week moving window, ending on the last Saturday of the previous month.

Sampling results used in the monthly establishment category assignments are extracted from the FSIS data systems on approximately the 11th of the current month to allow at least 10 days of lab processing time for samples taken before the close of the last moving window to be included. For demonstration, data extracted on January 11, 2018 for the January web posting would include the completed moving window of samples taken through December 30, 2017.