USDA Has Not Updated Food Pathogen Standards for Meat and Poultry Since 2018: Watchdog

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) building is shown in Washington on July 21, 2007. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has failed to establish up-to-date pathogen contamination standards for poultry and meat products in recent years, according to a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that called on the agency to strengthen oversight regarding these matters.

The USDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of meat and poultry products in the United States, while USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) establishes standards for reducing certain bacteria and other pathogens known to cause foodborne illnesses in beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and other products. The last time FSIS finalized new or updated standards for illness-causing pathogens in meat and poultry products was in 2018 when it designated salmonella in “not ready-to-eat” breaded stuffed chicken products as an “adulterant” at certain levels, said the Jan. 22 GAO report.

“Of 31 pathogens known to cause foodborne illness in the United States, FSIS focuses on four pathogens that commonly cause foodborne illness: salmonella, campylobacter, listeria monocytogenes, and STEC [Shiga-producing E. coli].”

Since 2019, the FSIS has proposed a total of five pathogen standards, for salmonella and campylobacter bacteria, but none have been finalized, it said. Harmful bacteria in food is estimated to sicken one in six Americans every year, killing approximately 3,000 individuals, according to the report.

Out of the five proposed standards, one was for salmonella presence in raw ground beef and beef trimmings in 2019 and another involving the bacteria in raw ground pork and pork cuts in 2022. Two standards were proposed for campylobacter presence in “not ready-to-eat” ground chicken and turkey in 2019.

FSIS paused work on these standards to focus on establishing a framework for salmonella standards in raw poultry, proposed in 2024, which is also yet to be finalized.

“Agency officials said that after finalizing the raw poultry salmonella framework, FSIS plans to use a similar approach to developing the other standards,” the report said.

“But they did not know when the framework would be finalized or have a prioritization plan or time frame for resuming work on the other standards.” GAO called on the USDA to take “additional actions to strengthen oversight of meat and poultry.”

The report concluded that FSIS faced two challenges to reducing food pathogens. First relates to developing and updating standards. Second is that the agency has limited control in terms of oversight, which is restricted to slaughter and processing plants.

A draft version of the report was reviewed by the USDA. In comments submitted to GAO, USDA detailed the various actions it has taken to ensure food safety.

For instance, the scope of FSIS’s routine verification testing for Shiga-producing E. coli bacteria in beef products has been broadened, it said. A more efficient sampling method for STEC and salmonella in domestic beef manufacturing has also been adopted.

“Our mission—to protect public health by preventing foodborne illness from meat, poultry, and egg products—remains our top priority,” USDA said in its response to the report. “Our work as a team is vital to the success of our mission and to providing safe food for a growing world.”

The Epoch Times reached out to FSIS for comment on the GAO report.

Recommendations, Recalls

In its report, GAO made five recommendations for agencies under the USDA. It advised FSIS to develop a plan detailing the policies necessary to “effectively address pathogen reduction for salmonella in meat and standards for campylobacter in turkey parts.”

The FSIS administrator was asked to review the public health impacts of delaying proposed standards for salmonella and campylobacter.

GAO suggested the FSIS to update its memorandum of understanding with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) or create a new agreement to “clearly identify specific pathogens of concern” as well as each agency’s responsibilities when dealing with outbreaks involving these microbes.

The report also asked APHIS to update its memorandum or create an agreement with FSIS regarding the issues.

Finally, GAO asked FSIS to provide educational materials to regulated plants regarding sanitation, as part of complying with FSIS requirements. The plants should be provided guidance to minimize the spread of pathogens in meat and poultry items.

GAO said that “USDA did not agree or disagree with our five recommendations, stating that it will provide an additional response to formally address the recommendations of executive action upon receipt of the final report and statement of action.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), salmonella causes around 1.35 million infections annually in the United States. People who are at greatest risk of infection include children under the age of five, adults aged 65 and above, and people with weakened immune systems.

Campylobacter is estimated to make 1.5 million people ill in America every year, with the CDC calling it the cause of “most bacterial diarrheal illnesses” in the country.

The GAO report comes as multiple food recalls have been issued in recent weeks for the potential presence of pathogens.

Earlier this month, New Jersey-based Abbey Specialty Foods pulled out two of its cheddar products from the market, citing a risk of contamination with listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The items were distributed in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Colorado.

Earlier in December, Texas-based Supreme Produce recalled food items containing cucumbers supplied by a third party. The cucumbers were imported from Mexico and deemed to be at risk of salmonella contamination.