The deadline for comment on the Salmonella rule in poultry has been extended to November 7

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is extending the deadline for comment on a proposed rule that would prevent poultry producers from selling chicken and turkey contaminated with high levels of certain types of Salmonella.

November 7 is the new deadline for comments on the proposed rule on reducing Salmonella in raw poultry products. FSIS has decided to extend the original 60-day period for such feedback due to industry requests. Once the responses are in, USDA will begin writing the final rule.

The rule would make it illegal to sell chicken, chicken parts or ground chicken and turkey if found to be contaminated with certain types of Salmonella. It must be applied by the USDA’s FSIS.

The proposed rule was more than three years in the making. An entry into force date has not yet been determined. Industry associations, individual producers and consumer groups are among those who submitted comments.

The USDA rolled out the plan in late July to establish final product standards to maintain Salmonella levels at or above 10 colony forming units (CFU) per gram/ml and any detectable level of at least one of the Salmonella serotypes of interest for public health from entering the trade.

The rule also addresses efforts by poultry companies to develop a microbial monitoring program to prevent contamination with pathogens during slaughter.

According to the USDA, approximately 1 million human infections due to Salmonella bacteria occur in the United States each year. The numbers come from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FSIS also estimated 125,000 chicken-related diseases and nearly 43,000 turkey-related diseases in 2021.

Led by the National Chicken Council (NCC), industry groups opposed the proposed rule.

“We remain committed to further reducing Salmonella and fully support changes to food safety regulations based on sound science and robust data, and shown to have a positive impact on public health,” said Gary Kusher, interim president of NCC. “However, we are concerned that this proposal is not based on any of these points. Instead of sound science and robust data, the proposed rule continually points to agenda-driven, activist organizations to inform these sweeping changes.”

Consumer groups generally support the 149-page proposal as a step forward for public health.

Research has shown that Salmonella in poultry is responsible for 29 percent of Salmonella illnesses in the United States. According to Consumer Reports (CR), salmonella contamination is widespread among chickens, partly due to the often crowded and filthy conditions in which they are raised. Salmonella from live birds contaminates chicken and chicken parts while carcasses are sold to consumers.

“A 2022 CR researchFor example, almost a third of tested ground chicken samples were found to contain salmonella. Of those, 91 percent were infected with one of the three strains that pose the greatest threat to human health: Infantis, Typhimurium and Enteritidis,” according to Consumer Reports.

The federal eRulemaking portal is available for those who wish to comment.

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