A recent report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted the complex and fragmented oversight of the U.S. food supply, concluding that a national food safety strategy could help ensure federal agencies are working together to more successfully reduce foodborne illnesses.
The Trump Administration has fired 17 Inspectors General serving different federal agencies, including Phyllis K. Fong, J.D., who held the role of Inspector General at USDA. The Inspector Generals for HHS and EPA were also among those dismissed.
A researcher from Southern Illinois University Carbondale has received a $150,000 grant from USDA-NIFA to develop an AI-based rapid detection method for Salmonella on onions.
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that USDA-FSIS’ work on several proposed standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter in meat and poultry has suffered, as the agency has focused on developing a regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry.
USDA-FSIS has published its Annual Sampling Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, outlining the agency’s strategy for directing sampling resources in the coming year.
In response to USDA-FSIS’s proposed regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry products, Consumer Reports has called the agency’s suggested enforceable standards “too lax,” and suggests specific changes, such as including S. Infantis as a serotype of public health concern.
USDA-FSIS has completed swine and poultry line speed studies, finding that workers experienced pain in their upper extremities. FSIS is extending the current swine and poultry line speed waivers for companies that participated in these studies through May 15, 2025.
Per the USDA-FSIS Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 2025, the agency will focus on its proposed framework for Salmonella in poultry, including its regulation of Salmonella as an adulterant in certain products. FSIS will also work on truthful labeling, modernizing laboratory methods, and other efforts.
USDA-FSIS published a summary of its review of the deadly Boar’s Head Listeria monocytogenes outbreak, along with newly announced long-term measures to review and modernize its L. monocytogenes regulations and ready-to-eat (RTE) sampling programs.