WASHINGTON — The co-chairs of the Congressional Chicken Caucus, Representatives Steve Womack (R-Ark.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.), sent a letter to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking for a 180-day extension for the agency’s proposed rule, “Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products.”

“Given the complexity and length of the proposed rule and the fact that nearly all chicken marketed in the United States will be impacted, we believe it is essential to provide affected integrators and producers with additional time to offer thorough and meaningful feedback,” the letter said.  “Furthermore, the rule raises numerous questions due to its lack of clarity, making an extended comment period even more critical.”

In August, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it would extend the comment period for its proposed rule until Nov. 7, 2024.

The letter from the two Congress members requested the comment period be extended to April 4, 2025.

When the USDA first introduced the rule in July, the proposed rule stated it would establish final product standards to keep levels of Salmonella at or above 10 colony-forming units (CFU) per gram/ml and any detectable level of at least one of the Salmonella serotypes of public health significance from entering commerce. 

The National Chicken Council (NCC) continues to oppose the proposal as unnecessary and has previously stated it would raise costs for producers and consumers.

“NCC and the chicken industry attempted to engage with FSIS for the past two years during the formulation of this proposed Salmonella Framework, and unfortunately, our input was largely disregarded,” said Gary Kushner, NCC interim president. “NCC and our member companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars and have worked for decades to develop and refine best practices to reduce Salmonella and protect public health.”

Another part of the proposal includes the development of a microbial monitoring program to prevent pathogen contamination throughout the slaughter system.

The USDA previously said approximately 1 million human infections occur from Salmonella bacteria each year in the United States, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. FSIS also estimated 125,000 chicken-associated and almost 43,000 turkey-associated illnesses during 2021.

Comments can be made in the Federal Register using the federal eRulemaking portal.