New Federal Standards Finalized to Reduce Poultry Foodborne Illnesses

From the office of U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service finalized new federal standards that will reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses from poultry. 

The new standards are targetd at Salmonella and Campylobacter in chicken parts and ground chicken and turkey products. The Food Safety and Inspection Service will use these new pathogen standards to assess the food safety performance of establishments that process these types of poultry products. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that Salmonella and Campylobacter cause nearly two million foodbome illnesses, 27,500 hospitalizations, and over 450 deaths each year. Further, the CDC reports current food safety regulations have not reduced the number of illnesses caused by Salmonella since 2000.

U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Dianne Feinstein and Dick Durbin, in announcing the new standards, said they have pushed for updated and improved pathogen standards to better match the variety of poultry products consumers purchase today. 

The new pathogen standards, sampling methods, and public notification regarding food company performance will provide a more thorough assessment of a company’s food safety system and whether additional measures to ensure food safety are needed.

The new standards will require Salmonella contamination rates of no more than 25 percent for ground chicken and no more than 13.5 percent for ground turkey. In contrast, the old standards allow 44.6 percent contamination for ground chicken and 49.9 percent for ground turkey.

For chicken parts, the standards will require Salmonella contamination rates of no more than 15.4 percent and Campylobacter contamination rates of no more than 7.7 percent. The standards also will require Campylobacter contamination rates of no more than 1.9 percent for ground chicken and no more than 1.9 percent for ground turkey. Previously, there were no federal standards for pathogens in chicken parts or for Campylobacter in ground chicken and turkey.

As part of their ongoing efforts to improve food safety, the senators have also asked the USDA to update pathogen standards for beef and pork products.