The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS) has launched the Salmonella Grand Challenge—a new, nationwide initiative that brings together a group of elite scientists from different specialties to fight salmonellosis. The scientists will integrate their research to learn more about Salmonella risks to meat and poultry products, which will then inform the development of monitoring tools for meat and poultry producers to prevent Salmonella contamination.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has released an updated Guideline for Controlling Salmonella in Swine Slaughter and Pork Processing Establishments.

On May 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) celebrated the groundbreaking for the new home of its Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Midwestern Laboratory in Normandy, Missouri.

The 2023 Food Safety Summit town hall session centered on a conversation with top food industry regulators and advisory groups about the key issues, updates, and initiatives happening within their organizations. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has released a guidance document for manufacturing ready-to-eat (RTE), shelf-stable, fermented, salt-cured, and dried meat and poultry products that do not use cooking as the primary lethality step. FSIS is seeking comments and will host two webinars. 

The full committee of the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) will hold a hybrid in-person and virtual public meeting on May 16, 2023, to provide an update on the Cyclospora cayetanensis in produce and Cronobacter in powdered infant formula subcommittee work.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) released a proposed determination to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products, building upon the proposed regulatory framework to reduce Salmonella infections linked to poultry products.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing more than $43 million in meat and poultry processing research, innovation, and expansion, including several projects that aim to enhance food safety.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has notified constituents that establishments wishing to adopt the cloth sampling method (i.e., manual sampling device or continuous sampling device) for Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) testing of raw beef products no longer require a “No Objection Letter” (NOL) from FSIS.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has announced two upcoming public meetings of the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) and the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI).