First, the co-chairs of the Congressional Chicken Caucus, Reps. Steve Womack, R-AR, and Jim Costa, D-CA, asked USDA Secretary Vilsack in a letter for an additional 180 days for comment on the proposed Salmonella framework.
The National Chicken Council (NCC) wants at least a 90-day extension of the comment period for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) proposal.
In July, the USDA proposed a rule that would prevent poultry producers from selling chicken and turkey contaminated with high levels of certain types of Salmonella.
The rule would make it illegal to sell chicken, chicken parts, ground chicken and turkey if found to be contaminated with certain types of Salmonella. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will enforce the rule, which was more than three years in the making.
Once published in the Federal Register, the public and entities including industry associations, individual producers and consumer groups initially had 60 days to comment, but that has already been extended.
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service estimates that the proposed rule would benefit society by $20.5 million per year, ranging from $4.4 million to $39 million. Most of the benefits would come from preventable diseases worth $12.9 million per year, ranging from $0.3 million to $28.7 million. FSIS also estimated avoided costs resulting from a reduction in the risk of outbreak-related recalls to the industry. According to FSIS, additional industry actions in response to this proposal could lead to further benefits.
The influential trade association mentioned in his letter that it was pleased when the agency announced it would hold two webinars on the proposed rule, “Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products.”
In an August partial update, FSIS explained that participants in the September 9 and 10 webinars could ask clarifying or technical questions during those meetings.
The chicken lobbyist group’s scientific and regulatory staff found that the webinars failed to provide meaningful insights or clarification on most of the insightful and technical questions asked by participants, including representatives of very small, small and large institutions, public health officials, representatives of trade associations, and other stakeholders.
“While we appreciate the 30 days the agency has provided to extend the comment period until November 7, 2024, we reiterate the need for an additional 90 days to provide a full and comprehensive review of all aspects of the proposal,” concluded Peterson. . “The voluminous amount of information that needs to be read, processed, analyzed and acted upon requires significant time, resources and scientific expertise. In light of the fact that the agency continues to encourage feedback on the proposed Salmonella Framework, additional time is needed to provide the agency with the kind of feedback needed for a proposal of this size.”
“NCC and our member companies have made significant efforts to develop and submit questions that would have been very helpful in helping industry understand the proposal,” the statement continued. “However, these webinars failed to achieve their stated goal as most of the insightful and technical questions remain unanswered. In short, it’s clear that there are more questions than answers at this point. The lack of clarity around many aspects of the proposal directly hinders the ability of the NCC and our members to provide meaningful commentary.”
The chicken council said the webinars showed that FSIS had limited guidance to provide industry on how FSIS would implement the proposal as written.
In August, FSIS announced that this would happen extend the comment period for the proposed rule until November 7, 2024. The Congressional Chicken Caucus’ request for a 180-day extension would move the deadline to April 4, 2025.
NCC officials claim that industry experts still need to read and analyze ‘voluminous’ information, which takes more time.
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