Stakeholder Engagement: Your Input is Essential
Reminder: Feedback on FSIS All-Establishment Calls
FSIS is seeking your input! Over the last five years, we’ve held monthly calls to share information, hear your concerns, and answer questions. Through these calls, we’ve been able to hear firsthand how things are going and provide the information you need most. Your feedback is essential to improving our communication. This is the last week to provide input through our online survey. The survey will close on Friday, September 5th. Please take a few minutes to share your perspective: .
South Dakota Roundtable
On July 30th, we hosted a Small Plant Roundtable at South Dakota State University. This was an opportunity for small and very small establishments to engage directly with leadership from FSIS and the Des Moines District. FSIS representation included Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator William Griffin, Des Moines District Manger Jeffrey Jacobson, and Deputy Director for the Labeling and Program Delivery Staff Jeff Canavan. Our conversation touched on staffing, regulatory clarity, labeling, and how FSIS can better support smaller establishments. If you weren’t able to attend, we still welcome your questions and ideas by emailing us at . Details about upcoming small plant roundtables will be shared in future FSIS Updates for Small Plants newsletters.
FSIS posted the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Public Health Regulations (PHR) report on how FSIS determines PHRs and their thresholds.
FSIS updates its PHRs annually and uses a number of criteria described in Directive 5100.4 to prioritize establishments for Public Health Risk Evaluations (PHREs), including PHR noncompliance. The agency has analyzed current data and developed the FY 2025 list of PHRs, including the thresholds used to prioritize establishments for PHREs and to alert inspection personnel of elevated PHR noncompliance levels.
For FY 2025 and earlier, the aggregate PHRs noncompliance rate by establishments was evaluated and compared to thresholds (also referred to as cut points) for two categories of establishment operations: “Processing” (processing only) and “Combination” (both slaughter and processing). For FY 2026, the categories were further divided into four broad categories of establishment operations: “Processing” (processing only), “Meat Slaughter”, “Poultry Slaughter”, and “Meat and Poultry Slaughter” to enhance the ability to identify differences in establishment noncompliance. Establishments categorized as “Slaughter” may also engage in processing.
More detailed information about PHRs, as well as archived PHRs by fiscal year, are available on the FSIS Public Health Regulations page of the FSIS website.
On August 19, 2025, FSIS announced a proposed rule to amend post-mortem inspection requirements in swine slaughter establishments. The proposed rule would remove mandatory mandibular lymph node incision and viscera palpation requirements in both traditional and NSIS establishments. These steps are not needed to ensure food safety and may increase cross-contamination risk. FSIS is seeking public comment on the proposed rule.
In response to requests from the poultry industry, FSIS extended the timeline to give establishments until July 1, 2026, to make any necessary label changes. As was previously announced, the Office of Field Operations will start reviewing establishments’ retained water protocols on December 1, 2025. Questions regarding retained water can be sent to the Office of Policy and Program Development through askFSIS by selecting the “New Technology, Innovations” Inquiry Type.
FSIS previously published the FSIS Ready-to-Eat Fermented, Salt-Cured, and Dried Products Guideline which provides information on FSIS regulatory requirements associated with safe production of ready-to-eat shelf-stable, fermented, salt-cured, and dried products that rely on multi-hurdle approaches to achieve lethality and shelf-stability. The model illustrates the processing of a dried fermented sausage in the HACCP processing category of not heat treated—shelf stable.
PHIS Q&A
Support: Could you give us some guidance on what to do when I receive the error message “Session Invalid”?
Answer: Try clearing the browser cache and then try accessing login.gov/PHIS again. If that doesn’t work, you will need to contact: Login.gov, (844) 875-6446, operating hours are 24/7.
To clear cache:
In the browser, select the three dots in the upper right corner then go to the menu item for Settings. In the "Privacy" item select the Clear Browsing Data. Select the clear files and images (you can also do cookies) and remove for All-Time. Then restart your browser.
In Chrome:
- In the upper right corner select the three dots to open the Chrome menu
- Select Settings
- In Privacy and Security find Clear Browsing Data
- Change the time range to all time and remove the check from Browsing History (Cookies and Cached are still checked)
- Select the button for Clear Data
- Close the settings tab and retry the reported issue
In Microsoft Edge:
Similar to Chrome, three dots, Privacy and Security, Clear browsing data > Choose what to clear, “Cache and Cookies” and Clear.
For time-out or technical support, please email phistechnicalqa@usda.gov.
Visit PHIS Help for Industry for additional resources.
Knowledge Article
Yes. Rework consists of any fully or partially processed product rerouted for reasons other than unwholesomeness or adulteration in which the cause for adulteration cannot be reconditioned and eliminated. Rework is typically intended for inclusion in cooked sausages, loaves, and similar products including sausage with a standard of identity in 9 CFR 319.180. Care must be taken to ensure that the ingredient list, including order of predominance, and the nutrition facts panel information remain accurate with the inclusion of rework.
Questions? Please submit them through askFSIS by filling out the web form on the FSIS website.
Visit AskUSDA.gov and include “askFSIS” in your search terms for more knowledge articles on this and other topics.
|
