The products were imported from Vietnam, a country ineligible to export poultry products to the U.S.

Last month, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published the final rule for the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS), a rule that requires additional pathogen sampling for swine slaughter establishments and eliminates the numbers of FSIS inspectors, with a goal toward modernizing swine slaughter safety and more efficiently utilizing agency resources.

FSIS is proposing updated Salmonella performance standards for raw ground beef and new Salmonella performance standards for beef manufacturing trimmings.

As my travels have slowed I am able to focus on the important issues that need addressed with the various agencies that oversee the work of our members.

For the first time in more than five decades, FSIS is modernizing inspection at market hog slaughter establishments with a goal of protecting public health while allowing for food safety innovations.

CSPI petitioned FSIS to amend its labeling regulations to prohibit the statements “No Nitrate or Nitrite Added” and “Uncured” on meat products that have been processed using any sources of nitrates or nitrites, including non-synthetic sources.

Last month, I spent the day in Washington, D.C. with other industry associations and the scientific working groups that we have put together to work on Appendix A & B issues.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has been relatively quiet the past few months in terms of new regulatory initiatives. There are, however, a few recent noteworthy developments.

Latest Constituent Update offers tips for the label approval process