HACCP measures must be reassessed due to salmonella outbreaks, says USDA

Producers of not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) ground chicken and turkey must reassess their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) due to recent salmonella outbreaks, said the USDA.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published a notice to inform producers of NRTE ground or otherwise comminuted chicken and turkey products about the change due to recent salmonella outbreaks associated with consumption of comminuted NRTE turkey products.

Agency inspection program personnel (IPP) will begin verifying establishments that manufacture comminuted NRTE turkey or chicken product, as a final or intermediary product for further processing as NRTE product, have reassessed their HACCP plans for these products within 90 days following the publication of the notice in the Federal Register.

FSIS is also expanding its Salmonella Verification Sampling Program for Raw Meat and Poultry product to include all forms of non-breaded, non-battered comminuted NRTE poultry product that are not destined under company control programs for further processing into RTE products in official establishments.

FSIS said is likely to develop campylobacter standards following validation of an analytic method.