- On April 25, 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the withdrawal of a proposed regulation titled, Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products, that would have determined poultry products contaminated with certain serotypes of Salmonella to be adulterated.
- The proposed rule aimed to classify raw chicken carcasses, chicken parts, comminuted chicken, and comminuted turkey products contaminated with certain levels and serotypes of Salmonella as adulterated under the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). The withdrawn proposal also included a requirement that all poultry slaughter establishments develop, implement, and maintain written procedures to prevent contamination by enteric pathogens, through a microbial monitoring program (MMP) with statistical process control (SPC) methods, sampling at rehang instead of pre-chill, and paired sampling at rehang and post-chill.
- The proposal underwent an extensive public comment period, during which the FSIS received 7,089 comments. In its withdrawal announcement, USDA cited the need for further review of the issues raised during the comment period.
- The agency acknowledged the goal of reducing Salmonella illnesses but indicated that the proposed framework required additional consideration. FSIS stated that it would continue to support efforts to reduce Salmonella contamination through other means.
- Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor updates related to updates on proposed rulemakings.
