Comment on USDA’s Salmonella Framework

Time sensitive request of our supporters:

USDA has proposed an update to its Salmonella testing and reporting requirements in chicken and turkey slaughterhouses. Unfortunately, the current proposal only requires testing samples after birds have been slaughtered. LIC submitted a comment asking the agency to require animal welfare improvements that would limit the spread of Salmonella in live birds. At the very least, positive test results should be traceable back to the farm where the birds were raised, so that welfare and sanitation issues on particular farms can be addressed.

The agency is accepting public comments on its proposal through Friday at 11:59pm EST. If you would like to submit a comment, you can copy and paste the following message into the comment box here. Feel free to edit the message to add your own personal touch! Comments may be submitted with your name or anonymously.

FSIS’s Salmonella testing framework has not been effective at protecting consumers from the bacteria because testing a sample of chicken and turkey parts after slaughter is not enough. FSIS has already recognized in its Guideline for Controlling Salmonella in Raw Poultry that improving bird health and welfare reduces the chance that birds carry Salmonella at slaughter. If fewer birds reach the slaughterhouse with infections, fewer infected products will evade USDA’s testing protocol and reach consumers. FSIS should therefore require that producers implement bird health and welfare improvements that have been shown to reduce rates of Salmonella. Such improvements include limiting stocking density and flock size; regular removal of feces and litter, and other sanitation measures on farms; providing adequate food and water without long withholding times before slaughter; and otherwise reducing birds’ stress. FSIS should also ensure that positive test results at the slaughterhouse can be traced back to the farm where the birds were raised so that on-farm health and welfare issues can be addressed. 

Thank you for your time and for caring about birds!

More information about our comment:

Legal Impact for Chickens and the University of San Francisco School of Law Student Animal Legal Defense Fund submitted a comment to USDA regarding proposed changes to the agency’s Salmonella Framework for chicken and turkey products.

As stated in our comment, studies have shown that birds are more susceptible to Salmonella when they have low welfare and poor health. Keeping barns cleaner, providing proper food and water, maintaining comfortable temperatures, lowering the number of birds kept in one flock, and lowering stress in other ways can all help stop illnesses from spreading on bird farms. USDA currently only provides voluntary guidance about how to reduce Salmonella by increasing bird welfare before slaughter. LIC is asking USDA to create binding regulations.

USDA only requires Salmonella testing of some samples of chicken and turkey parts after the birds have been slaughtered. LIC’s comment asks the agency to require testing earlier in the process, or otherwise require some way to trace positive results back to the farm where the birds were raised. LIC also asked USDA to collect and publish information about the rates of Salmonella found in each facility. These measures would allow USDA to identify farms or slaughterhouses with particularly high levels of Salmonella, and to address any animal welfare or food safety issues leading to those high rates.