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USDA/FSIS Delays NRTE Chicken Product Salmonella Testing Till Nov. 3

April 15, 2025

Although the deadline was May 1, FSIS blames the Biden administration, not the thousands of layoffs at USDA this year, for starting enforcement late.

Dave Fusaro

Although there was a May 1 deadline, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it will delay the sampling of not ready-to-eat (NRTE) breaded stuffed chicken products (chicken kievs) for salmonella and the date establishments need to reassess their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans for these products to Nov. 3 of this year.

“This additional time is necessary for FSIS to finalize its instructions to inspectors and prepare its inspection program personnel and laboratories for the new sampling and testing,” read a notice in the April 11 Federal Register. “In addition, this additional time is necessary for FSIS to provide industry with guidance on holding and controlling products pending FSIS' sampling results.”

There was, of course, no mention if the 6,000 or more layoffs this March at the Agriculture Dept. are partly responsible. In fact, the agency tacitly blamed the delay on the President Joe Biden administration. “FSIS is announcing this delay ... because it was unable to complete this process due to competing priorities at the end of the last administration.”

FSIS will begin sampling NRTE breaded stuffed chicken on Nov. 3. Establishments will have until that same date to reassess their HACCP plans for this product.

FSIS published a final determination in the Federal Register back on May 1, 2024, declaring that NRTE breaded stuffed chicken products containing Salmonella at levels of 1 colony forming unit per gram or higher are considered “adulterated” under the Poultry Products Inspection Act.

At that time, FSIS' also outlined verification procedures, including sampling and testing of raw incoming chicken components used to produce the stuffed chicken products. Additionally, the final determination required all NRTE breaded stuffed chicken establishments to reassess their HACCP plans for this product.

Also, “This delay will provide time for new leadership appointed after January 20, 2025, to review and provide policy input on the agency's sampling program and guidance documents for this product.”

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.