Poultry and poultry products

Proposed Determination and Request for Comments: Salmonella in Not-Ready-To-Eat Breaded Stuffed Chicken Products

The US Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is extending the comment deadline on the Proposed Determination and Request for Comments on proposing to declare Salmonella an adulterant in not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) breaded stuffed chicken products. The deadline for comments was originally 27 June 2023. The Proposed Determination and Request for Comments will be open for comments for an additional 30 days, until to 27 July 2023.

FSIS is proposing to declare that NRTE breaded stuffed chicken products that contain Salmonella at levels of 1 colony forming unit (CFU) per gram or higher are adulterated within the meaning of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). Although the labeling of these products has undergone significant changes over time to better inform consumers that they are raw and to provide instructions on how to prepare them safely, NRTE breaded stuffed chicken products continue to be associated with Salmonella illness outbreaks. Therefore, FSIS has concluded that domestic public health measures that focus primarily on product labeling and consumer handling practices have not been effective in preventing additional foodborne illnesses associated with NRTE breaded stuffed chicken products. FSIS is also proposing to carry out verification procedures at regulated facilities, including sampling and testing of the chicken component of these products prior to stuffing and breading, to ensure producing establishments control Salmonella in these products.

FSIS invites interested persons to submit comments on this proposed determination and the proposed verification procedures. FSIS specifically requests comments on alternative bases for determining adulteration of breaded stuffed NRTE products. Please submit comments on or before 27 July 2023.