Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) revised its Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG) for certain foodborne pathogens. Notably, the changes come at a time when the poultry industry has dealt with a prolonged Salmonella outbreak, and with so much industry conversation on the topic, the agency and its guidebook, now is a good time to sort out what it means.
As a public health agency responsible for ensuring meat, poultry and egg products are safe, wholesome and well-labelled, the USDA-FSIS has federal power to cease operations and order recalls. It inspects and regulates nearly 6,000 U.S. facilities and performs nearly 190,000 scientific analyses per year. It also partners with other agencies, including the FDA (which regulates other foods) and the CDC (which investigates foodborne illness and outbreaks, and monitors prevention and control effort effectiveness.)