USDA withdraws plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry

The Agriculture Department will not require poultry companies to limit salmonella bacteria in their products, halting a Biden Administration effort to forestall nutrient poisoning from contaminated meat.

The section connected Thursday said it was withdrawing a norm projected successful August aft 3 years of development. Officials pinch nan USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service cited feedback from much than 7,000 nationalist comments and said they would “evaluate whether it should update” existent salmonella regulations.

The norm would person required poultry companies to support levels of salmonella germs nether a definite period and trial for nan beingness of six strains astir associated pinch illness, including 3 recovered successful turkey and 3 in chicken. If nan levels exceeded nan modular aliases immoderate of those strains were found, nan poultry couldn’t beryllium sold and would beryllium taxable to recall, nan connection had said.

The scheme aimed to trim an estimated 125,000 salmonella infections from chickenhearted and 43,000 from turkey each year, according to USDA. Overall, salmonella causes 1.35 cardinal infections a year, astir done food, and astir 420 deaths, according to nan U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The withdrawal drew praise from nan National Chicken Council, an manufacture waste and acquisition group, which said nan projected norm was legally unsound, misinterpreted science, would person accrued costs and create much nutrient waste, each “with nary meaningful effect connected nationalist health.”

“We stay committed to further reducing salmonella and afloat support nutrient information regulations and policies that are based connected sound science,” said Ashley Peterson, nan group’s elder vice president of subject and regulatory affairs.

But nan move drew swift disapproval from nutrient information advocates, including Sandra Eskin, a erstwhile USDA charismatic who helped draught nan plan.

The withdrawal “sends nan clear connection that nan Make America Healthy Again inaugural does not attraction astir nan thousands of group who get sick from preventable foodborne salmonella infections linked to poultry,” Eskin said successful a statement.

The projected norm had been regarded arsenic a nutrient information triumph akin to a 1994 determination to prohibition definite strains of vulnerable E. coli germs from crushed beef aft deadly outbreaks, said Sarah Sorscher, of nan Center for Science successful nan Public Interest.

“Make nary mistake: Shipping much salmonella to restaurants and market stores is definite to make Americans sicker,” Sorscher said.

Earlier this month, nan USDA said it would hold by six months nan enforcement of a last rule regulating salmonella levels successful definite breaded and stuffed earthy chickenhearted products. Enforcement, which was group for May 1, now originates Nov. 3.

That covers foods specified arsenic stiff chickenhearted cordon bleu and chickenhearted Kiev dishes that look to beryllium afloat cooked but are only heat-treated to group nan batter aliases coating. Such products have been linked to astatine slightest 14 salmonella outbreaks and astatine slightest 200 illnesses since 1998, according to nan CDC.