Consumer Reports (CR) has called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) to release data supporting its evaluation of Salmonella testing methods for not-ready-to-eat (NRTE), breaded and stuffed chicken products, citing concerns about transparency surrounding continued delays to the agency's verification sampling program.

In a letter dated June 11, addressed to USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears, Ph.D., CR Director of Food Policy Brian Ronholm questioned FSIS' assertion that currently available test methods produce inaccurate results and false positives when detecting Salmonella at very low levels of contamination. CR requested that FSIS publicly release the data used to validate the BioMérieux GENE-UP QUANT Salmonella Test Kit, which FSIS previously identified as an accurate method for detecting Salmonella at the regulatory threshold of 1 colony-forming unit per gram (CFU/g).

The letter highlighted conflicting agency positions. In its April/May 2024 final determination declaring Salmonella an adulterant in NRTE breaded and stuffed chicken products at levels of 1 CFU/g or greater, FSIS stated that validated testing methods existed to support enforcement. However, in December 2025, the agency announced an additional delay to verification sampling, citing limitations of available testing methods and concerns about false positives.

CR also referenced comments made during FSIS' January 2026 public meeting on Salmonella reduction strategies, where PathogenDx CEO and co-founder Milan Patel asserted that molecular technologies capable of accurately quantifying Salmonella at 1 CFU/g already exist.

The letter requested that FSIS provide data supporting both its original validation of the GENE-UP QUANT method and any evidence behind the agency's more recent concerns about the method's accuracy. CR requested a response by June 29.

Background: USDA Changes Plans for Regulating Salmonella in Poultry

USDA-FSIS finalized a determination in April/May 2024 declaring Salmonella to be an adulterant in NRTE, breaded and stuffed chicken products when present at levels of 1 CFU/g or higher. The policy was developed in response to a disproportionately high number of salmonellosis outbreaks linked to the product category, and included requirements for verification sampling of incoming raw chicken components and reassessment of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) plans by covered establishments.

The agency initially planned to begin verification sampling in May 2025, but shortly after the second Trump Administration took office, it postponed implementation to November 2025, citing delays in finalizing sampling procedures and guidance. In December 2025, FSIS announced a further delay without establishing a new implementation date, stating that available testing methods had accuracy limitations and generated unacceptable levels of false positives at low contamination levels.

The NRTE stuffed chicken policy was one component of FSIS' broader (now scrapped) regulatory framework for Salmonella in poultry. That larger proposed framework, which would have established enforceable Salmonella standards for additional raw poultry products, was withdrawn by the agency in April 2026. FSIS has since shifted its focus toward exploring alternative strategies for reducing cases of salmonellosis attributable to poultry.