USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has granted a second extension to the comment period for the Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products proposed rule and determination — this time until Jan. 17, 2025.
By adding an additional two months and 11 days to the clock, FSIS is falling short of the six-month extension leading consumer interests advocating food safety had requested, which was in line with the poultry industry’s requests for more time.
The proposed poultry standard for Salmonella was rolled out in July. The USDA rule would stop poultry producers from selling chicken and turkey contaminated with certain Salmonella. Consumer and industry groups seem to agree that the rule is complicated.
The deadline for submitting comments was originally scheduled for Oct. 7, but was initially extended until Nov. 7.
Consumer advocates from Stop Foodborne Illness (STOP), Consumer Reports, the Consumer Federation of America, and the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health joined the Poultry Safety Coalition in asking for the extension.
Representatives Steve Womack, R-AR, and Jim Costa, D-CA, co-chairs of the Congressional Chicken Caucus, fairly quickly asked USDA Secretary Vilsack for an additional 180 days for comments on the proposed Salmonella rule.
The National Chicken Council (NCC) followed and wants at least a 90-day extension of the comment period for the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s proposal. The new extension is for 72 days.
“We joined in requesting an extension of the comment period because we are concerned that the proposed rule is not sufficiently comprehensive and may by itself foreclose important reforms that we believe USDA should consider for inclusion in the final rule,” according to the consumer groups. “Additional time is required for USDA to notify stakeholders regarding these alternatives and to solicit written comment and genuine public dialogue to produce the best possible rule.”
The FSIS said that after the initial extension, stakeholders, including consumer groups, industry associations, and academia, submitted requests for FSIS to extend the comment period further to allow sufficient time to consider the proposal and supporting documentation and formulate comments on these documents.
Comments may be submitted online via the federal eRulemaking portal, available at www.regulations.gov; by mail sent to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 3758, Washington, DC 20250-3700, or by hand or courier delivery to 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Jamie L. Whitten Building, Room 350-E, Washington, DC 20250-3700. All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must include the agency name and docket number FSIS-2023-0028.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)