While processors are expecting new guidance on cooling, implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) revised Appendix A and B published in 2017 has been delayed. Instead, processors have been allowed to revert back to the 1999 versions.
While Appendix A and B are guidance documents and not regulations, they are the most thorough guidance currently available for cooling and cooking, and versions have been utilized since the ’70s, says Jeff Sindelar, a professor of meat science and animal biologics discovery at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison. FSIS’ updated versions are expected soon, but revisions have been delayed to allow for research and to work through the challenges in the 2017 version.