Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided to withdraw a rule introduced during the Biden administration that aimed to reduce salmonella contamination in raw chicken and turkey products.
- According to a Federal Register notice, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service scrapped the proposal due to concerns from chicken and turkey producers about the potential costs of implementation.
- The rule would have required poultry producers to establish monitoring systems to keep salmonella levels below certain thresholds. Proponents of the chicken and turkey industries argue that properly cooked poultry is safe to consume.
Dive Insight:
The FSIS estimates that there are approximately 125,000 cases of chicken-associated and nearly 43,000 cases of turkey-associated foodborne illnesses each year due to salmonella contamination. The decision to withdraw the rule marks the end of a more than three-year effort to enhance food safety.
In addition to withdrawing the raw poultry proposal, the USDA is delaying the implementation of inspections under a related rule that classified salmonella as a contaminant in raw, breaded stuffed chicken products.
While salmonella in raw poultry was previously considered less of a concern due to the bacteria being killed during cooking, poultry continues to be a significant source of foodborne illness. Although data suggests a decline in salmonella contamination in chicken and poultry products, there has not been a corresponding decrease in illnesses.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest hailed the USDA’s efforts to address salmonella as a major step forward in food safety, likening it to the agency’s actions against E. Coli in ground beef in the 1990s.
However, critics of the USDA’s decision argue that repealing the rule will increase the risk of Americans falling ill from salmonella exposure. The National Chicken Council supported the repeal, stating that the rule would have had minimal impact on public health while raising costs for consumers and producers.
The repeal of the rule follows scrutiny of the USDA’s slow progress in finalizing safety standards to prevent foodborne illnesses. A report from the Government Accountability Office revealed a pause in the development of standards for illness-causing pathogens since 2018, with the exception of salmonella in raw poultry.
In 2024, food recalls hit a five-year high, affecting popular brands like Boar’s Head. A recall of over 12 million pounds of chicken products was initiated due to listeria contamination at supplier BrucePac.