The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a few things on its Constitute Update related to food safety this week.
Two of the items involve the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and one involves the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods. Two of the items are related to controlling Salmonella in poultry.
Today the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) has a subcommittee meeting set for 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT on the topic of “Enhancing Salmonella Control in Poultry Products.”
The NACMCF plans to provide impartial, scientific advice and peer reviews to federal food safety agencies for use in the development of an integrated national food safety systems approach that assures the safety of domestic, imported, and exported foods.
To attend the virtual meeting please contact the NACMCF Secretariat at NACMCF@usda.gov or John Jarosh, NACMCF Designated Federal Officer, by email at john.jarosh@usda.gov.
FSIS to include Salmonella quantification in raw poultry rinse samples
In other news about controlling Salmonella in raw poultry, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it has awarded a contract to bioMérieux to incorporate its non-enrichment quantification system for Salmonella. The system is called “GENE-UP™ QUANT Salmonella” and will be added to the agency’s laboratory system.
The agency evaluated commercially available quantification systems and determined that this technology is the most appropriate for use in the high throughput FSIS laboratory environment. A future Constituent Update will announce when the method is available and when it will be implemented in all three FSIS food testing laboratories.
Salmonella quantification is a significant step in FSIS’ efforts to reduce Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry and to modernize the diagnostic capabilities of the FSIS food testing laboratories. Using this new system, FSIS will be able to measure the amount of Salmonella present in a regulatory sample, not solely its presence or absence.
The FSIS plans to extend pathogen quantification technology to sample types other than raw poultry rinses in the future. FSIS will continue to use Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook chapter 4.11 to isolate and identify Salmonella in raw poultry rinses.
FSIS to Participate in NARMS Public Meeting
Registration for the 2022 National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) public meeting set for September 21-22 is now open. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is hosting public meeting.
At the meeting officials plan to share NARMS progress since the adoption of the NARMS Strategic Plan: 2021-2025. Accomplishments since the last NARMS public meeting in 2020 and future plans will be highlighted. As a NARMS partner, FSIS will make presentations regarding agency findings.
The virtual public meeting will is set for Sept. 21 from noon to 5 p.m. EDT; and Sept. 22 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT. In addition, there will be a demonstration of how to access NARMS data online on Sept. 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT. Separate registration is required for each session.
To register for the NARMS technical workshop and/or for the public meeting, fill in the information requested on the following websites:
To participate in the public comment session on Sept. 22 from 3:40 to 4:15 p.m., please email Claudine Kabera (claudine.kabera@fda.hhs.gov) by Sept. 14 and include which topic(s) you wish to address.
A transcript of the meeting will be made available within 30 days after the meeting. For additional information, visit FDA’s public meeting webpage
