The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it is standardizing the approach it will take in instances when sample results from livestock or poultry carcasses reveal chemicals for which neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have set tolerances or regulatory levels. Such instances are rare and previously have been addressed on a case by case basis. The Agency’s new policy will better protect public health when they do occur.
“Improved testing methodology in recent years has made it possible for FSIS to collect more information about each meat or poultry sample analyzed in our labs, including the presence of compounds that we previously could not detect,” said Deputy Under Secretary Al Almanza. “The new, structured approach we are announcing today is part of FSIS’ ongoing modernization efforts to implement science-based measures that fill gaps in existing public health policy.”