USDA proposes declaring Salmonella an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA's FSIS) has proposed to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products if the contamination level exceeds a very low threshold. This move is part of FSIS' regulatory framework proposed in October 2022 to minimize Salmonella infections associated with poultry products.
Every year, Salmonella causes approximately 1.35 million human infections and 26,500 hospitalizations in the U.S., with over 23 percent of those infections linked to poultry consumption, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, the total annual cost of foodborne Salmonella infections in the U.S. is estimated to be $4.1 billion, according to data from the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS).
Under the proposed determination, any breaded stuffed raw chicken product that includes a chicken component testing positive for Salmonella at 1 colony forming unit (CFU) per gram before stuffing and breading would be considered an adulterated product.
FSIS decided to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products based on several factors, including 14 Salmonella outbreaks and approximately 200 illnesses associated with these products since 1998. The most recent outbreak in 2021 resulted in illnesses across 11 states. Despite efforts to improve labeling to inform consumers that these products are raw and to provide instructions on safe preparation, they are still associated with salmonellosis outbreaks. Furthermore, some people may not realize that these products contain raw chicken because the outside appears browned and cooked, leading them to believe that the product is safe to eat without cooking to a safe internal temperature.
