USDA drops plan to limit salmonella in poultry products

By I. Edwards

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has decided not to move forward with the proposal that would have required poultry companies to control salmonella bacteria in chicken and turkey products, thereby ending a Biden administration initiative aimed at reducing foodborne illnesses.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced last week that it was retracting the proposed rule, which had been under development for three years, as reported by The Associated Press.

With over 7,000 public comments received on the proposed regulation, officials stated that they would review whether updates to current regulations were necessary.

The proposed rule intended for poultry companies to maintain salmonella levels below a specified threshold and conduct testing for six strains of the bacteria commonly associated with illness.

Products exceeding the limit or testing positive for those strains would be prohibited from sale and subject to recall, according to AP.

The goal of the plan was to prevent approximately 125,000 salmonella infections from chicken and 43,000 from turkey annually.

Salmonella, in general, causes about 1.35 million infections each year in the U.S., resulting in around 420 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The National Chicken Council, an industry group, welcomed the withdrawal of the rule.

The group argued that the rule was legally flawed, misinterpreted scientific findings, would have increased costs, and led to more food wastage without significantly benefiting public health.

“We are committed to further reducing salmonella and fully endorse food safety regulations and policies grounded in sound science,” said Ashley Peterson, a senior vice president of the National Chicken Council, as reported by AP.

However, critics, particularly food safety advocates, strongly condemned the decision.

Sandra Eskin, a former USDA official involved in drafting the rule, expressed disappointment, stating that the decision indicated a lack of concern for the individuals who fall ill due to preventable foodborne salmonella infections associated with poultry.

Sarah Sorscher from the Center for Science in the Public Interest echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing that allowing more salmonella-contaminated products to reach consumers would lead to increased illnesses.

Recently, the USDA also postponed the enforcement of a final rule regarding salmonella levels in specific breaded and stuffed raw chicken products, such as frozen chicken cordon bleu.

The enforcement, initially scheduled to commence on May 1, has been rescheduled to start on November 3, as per AP. These products have been linked to at least 14 salmonella outbreaks and 200 illnesses since 1998, according to the CDC.

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