Salmonella management in poultry within the U.S. has come underneath intense regulatory scrutiny over the previous few years. Would it not make sense to shift the business’s meals security mindset to be extra just like the EU?
U.S. regulatory modifications
The U.S. Division of Agriculture’s (USDA) Meals Security and Inspection Service (FSIS) declared Salmonella an adulterant in uncooked breaded stuffed hen merchandise once they exceed a selected threshold (1 colony forming unit (CFU) per gram or greater) for Salmonella contamination in April 2024.
The motion adopted beforehand introduced efforts to cut back Salmonella related with poultry merchandise, with a concentrate on “encouraging preharvest controls to cut back Salmonella contamination coming into the slaughterhouse.”
How the EU regulates Salmonella
The EU has a barely totally different mindset than the U.S. when it comes to Salmonella tips, stated Twan Koenen, undine course of skilled, Progressive Water Ideas.
From his perspective, within the U.S., the burden is on the patron to keep away from Salmonella, whereas EU laws name Salmonella an adulterant in all poultry merchandise, with a spotlight extra on detecting Salmonella earlier than it reaches foodservice or retail by means of stringent testing.
“Within the EU, I feel we very strongly consider that U.S. ought to know and be taught underneath what circumstances and what limits the European processors have to fulfill,” he advocated.
The EU additionally requires using solely potable water through the cleansing stage of poultry processing, though there may be important variations from nation to nation inside the EU in how this regulation is enforced. Salmonella may be current in feed particles, the intestines, feathers and the pores and skin, in addition to different components of the chicken, making the cleansing stage an important step for meals security.
My conclusion
I’m no regulatory skilled, however in my opinion, shifting the burden of meals security towards the poultry business makes sense. Customers typically wrestle with fundamental meals security ideas – all of us keep in mind when the Nyquil Hen development obtained so unhealthy that the U.S. Meals & Drug Administration (FDA) felt it wanted to step in.
