WASHINGTON — Proposed new performance standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter from the Food Safety and Inspection Service are expected to be published in the near future and most likely within the month of February, according to the National Chicken Council. The Office of Management and Budget acknowledged on Jan. 25 that it had received the FSIS performance standards for OMB review prior to publishing in the Federal Register.

In comments on the new performance standards before the National Chicken Council Technical and Regulatory Committee meeting held last week in Atlanta, Dr. Daniel Engeljohn, FSIS assistant administrator, said FSIS would go forward with the Salmonella and Campylobacter performance standards, but that FSIS plans to change the way the agency will implement them. He further indicated FSIS will publish a revised Salmonella Incentive Program (SIP) shortly after the performance standards are published. The reason FSIS had not published SIP earlier is because FSIS wanted to tie SIP to the new performance standards.


FSIS has dropped its plans to move forward with its proposed policies regarding not-ready-to eat stuffed poultry products that appear ready-to-eat, Engeljohn also told the committee. In 2009, FSIS had proposed to establish a zero Salmonella performance standard on finished consumer packaged products in this category of poultry products.