U.S. agriculture officials have issued a final rule requiring poultry producers to reduce salmonella bacteria to very low levels in certain chicken products to help prevent food poisoning.
The regulation, which takes effect in 2025, will consider salmonella an adulterant when detected above certain levels in frozen breaded and stuffed raw chicken products, such as chicken cordon bleu and chicken Kiev dishes that appear fully cooked but are only heat-treated to set the batter or coating.
This is the first time the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared salmonella an adulterant in raw poultry, similar to how certain E. coli bacteria are regarded as contaminants in raw ground beef sold in grocery stores. Under the new rule, products exceeding the allowed salmonella level cannot be sold and are subject to recall.
Salmonella poisoning accounts for over 1.3 million infections and about 420 deaths annually in the U.S., with food being the primary source of most illnesses. Breaded and stuffed raw chicken products have been linked to at least 14 salmonella outbreaks and 200 illnesses since 1998, with a 2021 outbreak causing at least three dozen illnesses in 11 states and hospitalizing 12 people.
Sandra Eskin, the USDA’s undersecretary for food safety, said that despite changes to labels emphasizing the need for thorough cooking, consumers continued to fall ill, sometimes due to very virulent salmonella strains.
This regulation lays the groundwork for an even broader framework to regulate salmonella, which federal officials are currently considering. The proposal includes increased salmonella testing in poultry entering processing plants, stricter monitoring during production, and targeting three salmonella types responsible for a third of all illnesses.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.