Food Safety and Inspection Service January 26, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing and requesting comment on new pathogen reduction performance standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter in raw chicken parts and not-ready-to- eat (NRTE) comminuted chicken and turkey products. The Agency is also announcing its plans to begin sampling raw chicken parts to gain additional information on the prevalence and the microbiological characteristics of Salmonella and Campylobacter in those products. In addition, FSIS intends to begin an exploratory sampling of raw pork products for pathogens of public health concern, as well as for indicator organisms. Finally, FSIS is announcing that it plans to use routine sampling throughout the year rather than infrequently sampling on consecutive days to assess whether establishments' processes are effectively addressing Salmonella and, where applicable, Campylobacter on poultry carcasses and other products derived from these carcasses, including chicken parts and comminuted chicken and turkey product. FSIS intends to perform this assessment using a moving window of sampling results. FSIS will proceed with implementing the routine sampling of raw chicken parts and the changes to specified verification procedures on the dates announced in this notice. However, FSIS is seeking comments on its implementation strategy as part of its effort to continuously assess and improve the effectiveness of Agency policy.