The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced a new regulatory framework in an effort to reduce Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products. FSIS said it would be proposing three components, (1) Requiring incoming flocks be tested for Salmonella before entering an establishment; (2) Enhancing establishment process control monitoring and FSIS verification; (3) Implementing an enforceable final product standard.
But the National Chicken Council (NCC) says the new framework lacks data and research.
NCC senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs Dr. Ashley Peterson said, “We support the need to develop science-based approaches that will impact public health, but this is being done backwards. The agency is formulating regulatory policies and drawing conclusions before gathering data, much less analyzing it. This isn’t science – it’s speculation”.
NCC notes the facts are that CDC and FSIS’s own data demonstrate progress and clear reductions in Salmonella on chicken products.
Peterson added that NCC pledges to continue doing their part to drive these numbers down even further. The industry will remain committed to investing significant resources at the hatchery, feed mill, farm and plant to build on our success and further enhance the safety profile of chicken products.