Meat/Poultry

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In a new opinion, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is proposing to modify the existing maximum residue limits (MRLs) for agricultural chemical chlormequat in oats, as well as in the products of food-producing animals.

A recent study showed the high prevalence of Campylobacter in Nigeria with poultry as the primary reservoir, carrying significant food safety implications, and highlighting the importance of controlling the pathogen from a One Health perspective.

Among recommended measures are setting national targets to curtail antibiotic use and implementing surveillance systems that show how antibiotics are actually used on U.S. farms and feedlots.

A study has validated and verified two gas-phase hydroxyl radical processes for inactivating Salmonella and several avian pathogens on poultry hatchery eggs without affecting the egg hatch rate or development of hatched chicks, providing a viable alternative to traditionally used, hazardous and toxic formaldehyde treatments.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) sampled and tested meat, chicken, and Siluriformes fish (catfish) for 16 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), detecting “forever chemicals” in less than 0.2–0.3 percent of all sample types except wild-caught catfish, of which nearly half contained at least one PFAS.

In an April 25 speech, UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) Chief Executive Katie Pettifer described efforts FSA is taking to improve meat industry regulation, including supporting the adoption of new technologies, negotiating international trade agreements, addressing inspector and veterinarian workforce shortages, evaluating inspection charge discounts, and tackling food crime.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has withdrawn the long-awaited proposed regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry, which was designed to reduce the cases of human salmonellosis attributable to poultry consumption, saying that additional consideration is needed based on public comments. 

According to FOODAKAI’s Global Food Recall Index, the first quarter of 2025 has seen significant increases in food product recalls across the dairy, poultry, and produce categories internationally.

In May 2024, USDA-FSIS published a final determination setting levels at which Salmonella would be considered an adulterant in not-ready-to-eat (NRTE), breaded and stuffed chicken products, which also established a verification sampling program and a requirement for establishments to reassess their HACCP plans. FSIS has delayed the date for its sampling program and the HACCP reviews from May to November, 2025.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has approved its first cell-based food product—quail meat—bringing the product closer to market and establishing a regulatory framework in the national Food Standards Code.