FSIS is proposing updated Salmonella performance standards for raw ground beef and new Salmonella performance standards for beef manufacturing trimmings, a primary component of raw ground beef. FSIS is proposing both standards to ensure that establishments are consistently controlling or reducing Salmonella, a harmful bacteria not ordinarily considered an adulterant in raw beef products.
To meet the proposed standards, establishments that produce more than 50,000 pounds of ground beef and/or beef manufacturing trimmings per day would need to have no more than two Salmonella positives out of 48 FSIS samples in a period of 52 weeks. If the proposal is finalized, the agency would post on its website individual establishments as either “meeting” or “not meeting” the performance standards.