USDA Withdraws Proposed Rule to Limit Salmonella in Raw Poultry

The withdrawn rule was intended to reduce an estimated 125,000 salmonella infections from chicken and 43,000 from turkey each year.

Workers process chickens at a poultry plant in Fremont, Neb., on Dec. 12, 2019. Nati Harnik/AP Photo

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Thursday that it is withdrawing a proposed rule that would have required poultry companies to limit the presence of salmonella bacteria in their products, ending an effort by the past Biden administration to reduce foodborne illnesses linked to contaminated meat.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said the decision follows the review of more than 7,000 public comments submitted in response to the proposed rule, which was published in August 2024.

The department stated it will “evaluate whether it should update” current salmonella regulations, according to a Thursday notice from FSIS, which is pending publication in the Federal Register.

The withdrawn rule would have required poultry companies to keep salmonella bacteria below a specific threshold and test for six strains most associated with it, with three found in turkey and three in chicken. Any products exceeding the standard or containing any of those strains would have been forbidden from sale and subject to recall.

The proposal was intended to reduce an estimated 125,000 salmonella infections from chicken and 43,000 from turkey each year, according to USDA data. Salmonella is responsible for approximately 1.35 million illnesses and 420 deaths annually in the United States, most of which are linked to food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

FSIS explained that the proposed framework targeted raw chicken carcasses, chicken parts, comminuted chicken, and comminuted turkey products contaminated with certain salmonella levels and serotypes, which would have been classified as adulterated under the Poultry Products Inspection Act, according to the agency’s April 24 notice. The agency also proposed stricter monitoring, sampling, and recordkeeping requirements for poultry processors, according to the same notice.

The agency said it received 7,089 comments on the proposal, including feedback from industry trade associations, small and large poultry processors, consumer advocacy groups, academics, and state officials.

Decision to Withdraw

Key issues raised included questions about FSIS’s legal authority, the scientific basis for the proposed standards, economic impacts, and the potential burden on small producers, according to the FSIS notice.

“While FSIS continues to support the goal of reducing Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products, the Agency believes that the comments have raised several important issues that warrant further consideration,” FSIS stated in its withdrawal notice.

The decision to withdraw the rule was welcomed by the National Chicken Council, an industry trade group. “We remain committed to further reducing Salmonella and fully support food safety regulations and policies that are based on sound science, robust data, and are demonstrated to meaningfully impact public health,” said Ashley Peterson, the council’s senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, according to the group’s statement on Thursday.

Peterson criticized the proposed framework as “legally unsound,” based on “misinterpretations of the science,” and likely to have “no meaningful impact on public health.”

She added that it would have led to “an extraordinary amount of food waste” and higher costs for producers and consumers, according to the National Chicken Council.

“We appreciate today’s announcement by FSIS and share their goal of protecting public health,” Peterson said, adding that the council looks forward to working with the agency on future policy.

Sandra Eskin, a former USDA official who helped draft the plan, said the withdrawal “sends the clear message that the Make America Healthy Again initiative does not care about the thousands of people who get sick from preventable foodborne salmonella infections linked to poultry,” according to the Associated Press.

Sarah Sorscher of the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the proposed rule to the 1994 ban on certain E. coli strains in ground beef, calling it a missed opportunity for a significant food safety victory. “Make no mistake: Shipping more salmonella to restaurants and grocery stores is certain to make Americans sicker,” Sorscher said, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this month, the USDA delayed enforcement of a separate rule regulating salmonella in breaded and stuffed raw chicken products by six months, pushing the start date from May 1 to Nov. 3. Such products have been linked to at least 14 salmonella outbreaks and over 200 illnesses since 1998, according to the CDC.

From NTD News