USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service proposed to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products.
Under the proposal, FSIS would consider any breaded stuffed raw chicken products that include a chicken component that tested positive for Salmonella at one colony forming unit per gram before stuffing and breading to be adulterated.
FSIS also proposes to carry out verification procedures, including sampling and testing the chicken component of breaded stuffed raw chicken products prior to stuffing and breading, to ensure producing establishments control Salmonella.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the proposal "represents the first step in a broader effort to control Salmonella contamination in all poultry products." The announcement is part of USDA's proposed regulatory framework to reduce Salmonella infections linked to poultry products, released in October 2022.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Salmonella bacteria cause approximately 1.35 million human infections in the United States every year, with 23 percent attributed to poultry consumption.