The USDA’s food safety agency is considering new approaches to reduce salmonella bacteria in poultry that could include “pre-harvest interventions” on the farm, said Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary Saundra Eskin on Tuesday. “We know that most salmonella contamination enters the facility with the birds and the more we can do to reduce contamination at the point of slaughter, the less contamination and cross-contamination we have in an establishment.”
In a speech to a Consumer Federation of America conference, Eskin said the number of salmonella illnesses associated with poultry consumption has not declined significantly since 2000 despite efforts by regulators and the industry to reduce the presence of salmonella bacteria in raw poultry meat. “In fact for 2030, we are just moving with our 2020 goal, which is a 25 percent reduction in salmonella infections.”
“We will be casting a wide and inclusive net in thinking about potential paths forward and considering a systems-based approach to salmonella control with multiple, complementary control points,” she said. The USDA will collaborate with stakeholders in its deliberations. “I think we can all agree there is a need for change. We can’t keep going in the same direction and expect to see the public health impact we want.”
While the Food Safety and Inspection Service has focused for years on prevalence of salmonella bacteria, it also recognizes the quantity of bacteria is important and “emerging science suggests there is a need to drill down to specific serotypes and the genetic virulence factors associated with human illness,” said Eskin. The agency is also looking at ways to control salmonella throughout the food chain, “particularly at pre-harvest, which is on the farm.”
“Even though FSIS does not have direct regulatory authority on the farm, we are thinking about how we can factor in the use of pre-harvest interventions at the point where FSIS jurisdiction begins, which is when the birds are presented for slaughter,” said Eskin.
Asked if FSIS was developing an on-farm proposal, Eskin replied, “Not yet…Again, I don’t want to just necessarily focus on pre-harvest…We are looking at a comprehensive, multi-aspect policy to bring down these infections and I’m sure that pre-harvest, and how to factor it in, is going to be a big part of it.”
Eskin did not mention what would constitute a pre-harvest intervention or what timeline FSIS would follow in reviewing salmonella regulations.
U.S. farmers traditionally oppose federal intervention onto their property and operations. In the past, they said expansion of food safety regulations could hold them culpable for illnesses that were caused by someone else in the food system.
A longtime consumer advocate, Eskin is the top-ranking Biden appointee on food safety at USDA at present. The White House has yet to name its nominee for undersecretary for food safety.