USDA FSIS Constituent Update - FSIS Eliminates Trichinae Control Regulations and Consolidates Thermally Processed, Commercially Sterile Regulations

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FSIS Eliminates Trichinae Control Regulations and Consolidates Thermally Processed, Commercially Sterile Regulations
On May 31, 2018, FSIS will publish the final rule eliminating prescriptive regulatory requirements for destroying Trichinella spiralis in ready-to-eat (RTE) and not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) pork and pork products. Pork producers will now have a variety of processing options to address trichinae in their establishment’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans.

Kick Off Grilling Season with Food Safety in Mind
For many Americans, the summer grilling and travel season begins this upcoming weekend. FSIS wants to make sure you and your family avoid food poisoning this summer. An estimated 128,000 Americans are hospitalized with food poisoning each year, but foodborne illnesses can be prevented during summer months by properly handling perishable foods during travel, and by using a food thermometer when grilling.

FSIS Announces Webinar on Individual Salmonella Category Status for Poultry Parts and Comminuted Poultry
On June 13, FSIS will host a webinar from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET about the posting of individual Salmonella category status data for poultry establishments that produce poultry parts and not ready-to-eat (NRTE) comminuted poultry. The webinar will provide an overview of FSIS’ sampling practices and explain the category determination process, expectation for establishments in Category 3, and assignment of follow-up samples and Public Health Risk Evaluations (PHRE).

Food Safety Benefits for Food Defense
Many people may not be familiar with the strong relationship between food safety and food defense. In the event that a food defense incident, or intentional contamination occurs, food safety can become compromised and lead to public health harm or economic disruption for your business.
You may not realize that the majority of the food safety measures you already have in place can also protect your product from intentional contamination.

FSIS Guideline for Determining Exemptions from Inspection Requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act
On May 25, 2018, FSIS published a Federal Register notice announcing the availability of a guideline for businesses that slaughter livestock or process meat and meat food products on the exemptions to the inspection requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA).