In a Federal Register notice to be published on January 26, 2015, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing and requesting comments on renewed standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter in raw chicken parts and not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) comminuted chicken and turkey products. FSIS will also start inspecting the subject products using routine sampling throughout the year.

According to the notice, “Salmonella would raise concern about the effectiveness of the country's food safety system, which could influence the focus and timing of the next audit of the country or result in other appropriate action.”

The notice furthermore clarifies that, “FSIS will replace its existing Salmonella sampling set-approach with a routine sampling approach for all FSIS-regulated products subject to Salmonella and Campylobacter verification testing.”

Comments are due March 24, 2015.

The Federal Register notice can be accessed online at:
http://www.ofr.gov/%28S%28alnjmxr5um1edeprkojv4ard%29%29/OFRUpload/OFRData/2015-01323_PI.pdf