USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently released its “Salmonella Action Plan” in an effort to reduce the number of individuals sickened by Salmonella in meat and poultry products.  For the first time, FSIS includes efforts to regulate Salmonella in pork products. 

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This effort will include developing a directive for sanitary dressing in hogs.  FSIS said this is based on evidence from outbreak data showing that pork products contribute to Salmonella illnesses.  The plan also includes modernizing the poultry slaughter inspection system, develop new in-plant strategies for inspectors, changing FSIS’ sampling activities, and conducting risk assessments and possibly developing additional performance standards for Salmonella.  FSIS estimates 1.3 million Americans are sickened by Salmonella each year.