NATIONWIDE – The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it is withdrawing a plan aimed at reducing salmonella in raw poultry.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it is withdrawing a plan that was introduced last year and intended to reduce salmonella in raw poultry

  • The proposal by the Food Safety and Inspection Service would have set requirements for locations where poultry are slaughtered and processed, including testing for six salmonella strains – three commonly found in chicken and three un turkey

  • The agency said that it received more than 7,000 responses about the proposal during the public comment period and that feedback raised “several important issues that warrant further consideration”

In a statement, the department said the rules, which were proposed in August following three years of development, would have led to “significant financial and operational burdens on American businesses and consumers.”

The proposal by the Food Safety and Inspection Service would have set requirements for locations where poultry is slaughtered and processed, including testing for six salmonella strains — three commonly found in chicken and three in turkey. Meat that exceeded set thresholds or tested positive for these specific strains would not have been able to be sold. 

The agency said that it received more than 7,000 responses about the proposal during the public comment period that ended in January and that feedback raised “several important issues that warrant further consideration.” Comments mostly focused on several topics, including the legal authority of the Food Safety and Inspection Service to impose standards, the proposed salmonella levels and how this would affect businesses involved in poultry production, the department said. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that salmonella causes more foodborne illnesses than any other bacteria and is responsible for about 1.35 million infections in the U.S. each year. Chicken is a major source of the illnesses — with 1 in every 25 packages of chicken at grocery stores having salmonella contamination, the agency says.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service estimated that there are about 125,000 salmonella illnesses from chicken products and 43,000 from turkey per year. 

Since raw chicken can be contaminated with salmonella and other germs, officials advise keeping poultry away from other foods, not washing the meats, cleaning cutting boards and utensils with hot, soapy water and cooking chicken to a “safe internal temperature” of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.