Constituent Update - October 25, 2024

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service sent this bulletin at 10/25/2024 04:00 PM EDT
US Food Safety and Inspection Service - US Department of Agriculture
Constituent Update

October 25, 2024

FSIS and FDA NARMS Publish Minor Species Antimicrobial Resistance Findings

On October 24, 2024, FSIS’ National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) team, in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) NARMS team, published the findings from their minor species national study in Volume 39 of Sheep and Goat Research Journal. This publication can be accessed from FSIS’ NARMS Webpage.

The analysis describes the nature, types, and extent of bacterial antimicrobial resistance seen in Salmonella, Campylobacter, generic E. coli, and Enterococcus isolated from cecal (gut) contents of goats, sheep, and lambs. The goal of this exploratory study was to characterize antimicrobial resistance patterns and trends in a subset of food animals that have not historically been targeted in NARMS surveillance but are of importance to agriculture and the food supply.

NARMS is an interagency, collaborative partnership with USDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, and state and local public health departments for monitoring changes in antimicrobial resistance in certain enteric/intestinal bacteria.

FSIS Updates Quarterly Humane Handling Datasets

Today, the quarterly humane handling inspection datasets were updated on the FSIS website. The datasets include:

  • the number of administrative enforcement actions taken;
  • the number of humane handling verification tasks performed;
  • the number of humane handling verification tasks that resulted in a noncompliance record (NR); and
  • the number of hours spent observing and verifying the humane treatment of livestock.

This posting contains the most recent four quarters of data by district, HACCP size, and quarter.

FSIS Updates Quarterly Sampling Data

FSIS has updated the following quarterly sampling data sets:

Reminder: FSIS to Onboard Mexico in PHIS Export Component

As announced in previous Constituent Updates, starting November 4, 2024, all FSIS meat and poultry product export certificates for products exported to Mexico will be generated, issued and officially maintained in FSIS’ Public Health Information System (PHIS). This change excludes certificates for casings and egg products. The Mexico PHIS Industry Test Environment (ITE) is currently available for testing.

All export certificates (FSIS Form 9060-5 series) generated through PHIS will be digitally signed by FSIS and will be printed on plain paper by industry personnel with PHIS access. These plain paper forms must include the PHIS-generated watermark. Any attestations for Mexico, as documented in the FSIS Export Library, will be captured in the FSIS Form 9060-5 remarks section or the FSIS Form 9060-5B (continuation sheet). The digitally signed FSIS Form 9060-5 series printed on plain paper, with a watermark, and available for validation in PHIS will replace all letterhead certificates for meat and poultry exported to Mexico. Beginning November 4, 2024, no wet-signed 9060-5 series export certificates, including letterhead certificates, will be issued for meat and poultry products for export to Mexico.

Industry is strongly encouraged to use the ITE to test application submittals for export to Mexico. Testing instructions for industry are available on the FSIS website, PHIS Components page, under Information for Industry. Please note that an electronic identification account with identity verification steps is required for all persons who will access PHIS, for both the test environment and the live production environment. User accounts are disabled for those who have not used PHIS in 60 days. For those new to the PHIS export component, please register with Login.gov to initiate, update, or complete the electronic identification account and the PHIS enrollment process. Instructions can be found in the PHIS Industry User Guide, section 2 (Overview of PHIS).

As noted in previous Constituent Updates, industry is strongly encouraged to ensure establishment information in PHIS is aligned with Mexico’s approved establishment list. Misaligned information risks held or rejected shipments upon Mexico’s implementation in PHIS. 

For further guidance on PHIS export and enrollment, please refer to the following user guides:

Please contact internationalcoordination@usda.gov with questions regarding these changes. Technical questions can be directed to PHISTechnicalQA@usda.gov.

Available for Public Comment

FSIS seeks public comments on proposed rules and notices, which are viewable on the FSIS Federal Register & Rulemaking webpage. FSIS is currently seeking comments on the following:

Policy Update

FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available on the FSIS Policy webpage. The following policy update was recently issued:

FSIS Directive 9900.6 - Laboratory Sampling Program for Imported Meat, Poultry, and Egg Products - Revision 1

Export Requirements Update

The Library of Export Requirements has been updated for products for the following:

  • China
  • Western Samoa (Samoa)
  • European Union
  • Japan
  • Peru
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Dominica
  • Mexico
  • Tunisia
  • Azerbaijan
  • French Polynesia (Tahiti)
  • Barbados
  • Solomon Islands
  • Korea
  • Turkey
  • Canada
  • Cuba
  • Dominican Republic
  • Chile
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
  • St. Lucia
  • Qatar
  • Turks & Caicos Islands
  • Curacao
  • El Salvador
  • Colombia
  • Vietnam
  • Costa Rica
  • Taiwan

Complete information can be found at the FSIS Import & Export Library.
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