FSIS Issues Compliance Guidelines for Controlling Salmonella in Market Hogs
On Jan. 6, the Federal Register published a new guidance document, Compliance Guidelines for Controlling Salmonella in Market Hogs, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for review, comment, and implementation by the industry.
The guidance provides information on best practices that may be applied at a hog slaughter facility to prevent, eliminate, or reduce levels of Salmonella on hogs at all stages of slaughter and dressing, according to FSIS officials. The agency is issuing this guideline pursuant to the agency’s Salmonella Action Plan, because pork has recently been implicated in a number of outbreaks of salmonellosis. The plan lists a number of actions FSIS intends to take to reduce Salmonella-related illnesses from FSIS-regulated products, including pork products.