On October 19, the USDA’s FSIS announced a new effort to reduce Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products. FSIS initiated this effort to gather data and information necessary to support future action and move closer to the national target of a 25% reduction in Salmonella illnesses. Despite consistent reductions, over 23% of the more than 1 million illnesses caused by Salmonella annually are linked to the consumption of chicken or turkey.

According to USDA Deputy Under Secretary Sandra Eskin, who is leading the effort, “[r]educing Salmonella infections attributable to poultry is one of the Department’s top priorities. […] Time has shown that our current policies are not moving us closer to our public health goal. It’s time to rethink our approach.”

FSIS will seek stakeholder feedback on specific Salmonella controls and measurement strategies in poultry slaughter and processing establishments. A key component of this approach is encouraging preharvest controls to reduce Salmonella contamination coming into the slaughterhouse. The data generated from these pilots will be used to determine if a different approach could result in a reduction of Salmonella illness in consumers.

The initiative will require collaboration and ongoing dialogue with stakeholders — industry, consumer groups, and researchers. FSIS will strengthen its partnership with the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area to address data gaps and develop new lab methods to guide future policy. Additionally, the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria in Foods will advise on how FSIS can use the latest science to improve policy.