Following years of line speed waiver extensions and worker safety trials under modernized swine/poultry slaughter inspection pilot programs, the American Protein Processing Act would lift line speed limits in pork and poultry processing facilities that meet food safety criteria set by USDA.
Boar’s Head is reopening its Jarratt, Virginia plant that produced the deli meats behind a fatal listeriosis outbreak in 2024; however, inspections of the facility are being taken over by UDSA-FSIS directly, instead of relying on a state cooperative agreement.
USDA-FSIS has proposed a rule that would remove mandatory mandibular lymph node incision and viscera palpation requirements in swine slaughter establishments.
To assist establishments in meeting food safety regulatory requirements, USDA-FSIS has released a new, generic Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) model for ready-to-eat (RTE) fermented, salt-cured, and dried products.
Boar’s Head is planning to reopen a production plant that was linked to a deadly, multistate listeriosis outbreak in 2024. Meanwhile, inspection reports obtained by the Associated Press show that insanitary conditions similar to those that caused the outbreak continue to plague other Boar’s Head facilities.
Trump Administration appointee Trey Forsyth has been named Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at USDA, a role in which he will oversee USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS). He has expertise in agricultural policy, trade, and sustainability.
USDA-FSIS and AOAC International have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the development, validation, and recognition of methods used by FSIS labs and regulated establishments for the verification of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) -based food safety systems.
FDA and USDA are issuing a joint Request for Information (RFI) to gather information and data to help establish a federally recognized, uniform definition for ultra-processed foods.
At the July 15 grand opening event for the new USDA-FSIS Midwestern Food Safety Laboratory in Missouri, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins teased the agency’s new food safety policy plan aimed at reducing foodborne illness.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations has approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which would restore some FDA funding and address some effects of the Trump Administration on the agency.