The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced several new steps to strengthen the agency's oversight of food processing facilities it regulates, including those that process meat, poultry and egg products, to ensure safe food. These steps reflect the agency's continual effort to protect public health through science-based regulation, strong enforcement, and advancement of its prevention-first approach to eliminating food-borne illness, according to a government-issued report.
Over the past several months, Listeria monocytogenes has been linked to food-borne illness outbreaks and large-scale recalls of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, causing the agency to review its processes closely. While the agency's review continues, FSIS is announcing a number of improvements and initiatives that can be implemented quickly. The agency will share more information about additional actions that may be needed after further review and stakeholder engagement.
"As a science-based regulatory agency, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service is constantly looking at ways we can and should evolve our processes to protect the public, maintain confidence in America's food supply, and prevent food-borne illness," said Emilio Esteban, USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety. "These steps are common sense improvements to our work that will strengthen our food safety net as we continue improving the agency's work to align with the best available science and practices."
The changes FSIS announced fall into three categories: enhancing its science-based approach to mitigate food-borne pathogens, with a key focus on Listeria monocytogenes; improving training and tools for its inspection workforce; and evolving its oversight of regulated facilities, with an emphasis on data review and state inspection agreements.
FSIS will initiate the following changes in the next 30 days:
These actions are intended to strengthen FSIS' inspection and oversight by enhancing its ability to proactively identify and respond to the types of systemic problems that could lead to outbreaks. Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen of particular concern because it can be especially harmful to people with compromised immune systems, like the elderly and pregnant women, and it can contaminate foods that are not cooked before consumption.
FSIS is continuing to identify other steps that would improve control of Listeria monocytogenes, dependent on funding availability. As requested in the FY 2025 President's Budget, additional resources are necessary for the agency to continue to meet its mission to keep meat, poultry, and egg products safe and wholesome.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA has made several improvements to food safety oversight and to enhance the accurate and transparent labelling of meat, poultry and other products the agency regulates. Notably, through its Salmonella framework, USDA has proposed a comprehensive effort to reduce Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products, which have remained stubbornly high despite consistent reductions of Salmonella in these foods.
FSIS has also issued new guidance to provide more transparency around animal raising claims like "no antibiotics ever" and "pasture-raised." In March 2024, USDA finalized a regulation that only permits the voluntary "Product of USA" or "Made in the USA" claim to be applied to those FSIS-regulated meat and poultry products that are derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States, which better aligns with consumer understanding of what the label means.
As USDA's public health regulatory agency, FSIS is responsible for ensuring the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products, and thereby reducing foodborne illness linked to FSIS-regulated products.