Meat and Poultry in the United States  Beef: According to the U.S. Department of  Agriculture (USDA), beef is a highly consumed  meat in the United States, averaging 56  pounds per person per year. More specifically, the  agency has developed pathogen standards for some beef, pork, chicken,  and turkey products but not for other products that are widely available,  and its basis for deciding which products to consider for new pathogen  standards is unclear. FSIS has informed stakeholders  that it will take into account factors including consumption and foodborne- illness data, as it did when setting standards for chicken parts, but the  agency has not documented this process going forward. Previously, FSIS developed new pathogen standards after the agency  was directed to do so or after widespread outbreaks indicated the need. Additionally, in a 2016 Federal  Register notice, FSIS, after reviewing outbreaks from these products in  2011, 2013, and 2015—outbreaks in which 794 people were sickened  and 1 died—concluded that new pathogen standards were needed for  comminuted (including ground and other mechanically separated) poultry  and chicken parts. USDA Is Taking Additional Steps to Address Pathogen Reduction Challenges That We Identified in 2014, but These Challenges Are Ongoing

In addition to taking steps to develop or revise pathogen standards,  USDA’s FSIS is addressing other challenges we identified in September  2014 with respect to poultry pathogens, but these challenges are ongoing  and also apply to meat products. We  recommended that in future revisions of the guidelines, FSIS include information on the  effectiveness of on-farm practices to explain the potential benefits of adopting such  practices on poultry farms. However, unlike the poultry and beef  cattle guidelines, the draft Salmonella guidelines do not contain  information on the effectiveness of on-farm practices, as  recommended in 2011 by USDA’s National Advisory Committee on  Meat and Poultry Inspection. By including available information on the  effectiveness of these practices to reduce the level of pathogens as it  finalizes its guidelines for controlling Salmonella in hogs, FSIS would  have better assurance that it is keeping industry informed of the  potential benefits of adopting on-farm practices and encourage their  implementation. Limited Enforcement Authority  In September 2014, we found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and  Inspection Service (FSIS) faced a potential challenge in reducing Salmonella  contamination in poultry products, according to agency officials and representatives of  some stakeholder groups we interviewed, because (1) a 2000 federal court ruling stated  that FSIS could not withdraw inspectors, effectively shutting down the plant, solely  because a plant did not meet Salmonella pathogen standards, and (2) FSIS has not  classified Salmonella as an adulterant in raw poultry products, so products contaminated  with this pathogen generally may be permitted to enter commerce. To encourage poultry slaughter and  processing plants to control for Salmonella and  Campylobacter—disease-causing pathogens  that can sicken consumers—USDA publicly  releases information on individual plant  performance for reducing these pathogens. Conclusions

To help ensure the safety of meat and poultry products and protect  against foodborne illness, USDA’s FSIS has transitioned to an  increasingly science-based, data-driven, risk-based approach. As part of  this approach, FSIS has taken several actions to reduce levels of  Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry products, including  strengthening existing pathogen standards for Salmonella in poultry  carcasses and developing new Salmonella and Campylobacter standards  for certain chicken parts. However, the agency has not set pathogen  standards for many widely available products, such as pork cuts and  ground pork, and the agency’s process for deciding which products to  consider for new pathogen standards is not fully documented. Until  FSIS clearly documents its process for deciding which products to  consider for new pathogen standards, including the basis on which such  decisions should be made, FSIS will not have assurance that its decisions  will be risk-based and that agency personnel will know the process when  making such decisions. For  example, practices outside the slaughter plant, such as conditions on  cattle, hog, and poultry farms, can affect levels of pathogens on meat and  poultry products. To help overcome this challenge, the agency has  developed draft guidance on practices for controlling levels of Salmonella  and Campylobacter on beef cattle, hog, and poultry farms, but the draft  guidance for hogs does not include available information on the  effectiveness for each practice, as an internal agency committee  recommended. (Recommendation 2). In written comments, reproduced in appendix II,  USDA agreed with our three recommendations and described actions it  will take to implement them.
Why GAO Did This Study

The U.S. food supply is generally considered safe, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that Salmonella and Campylobacter in food cause about 2 million human illnesses per year in the United States. In 2014, GAO identified challenges USDA faced in reducing pathogens in poultry products, including standards that were outdated or nonexistent and limited control over factors that affect pathogen contamination outside of meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants, such as practices on the farm.
GAO was asked to review USDA's approach to reducing pathogens in meat and poultry products. This report examines (1) the extent to which USDA has developed standards for meat and poultry products and (2) any additional steps USDA has taken to address challenges GAO identified in 2014. GAO reviewed relevant regulations, documents, and data and interviewed officials from USDA and CDC, as well as 17 stakeholders representing industry, consumer groups, and researchers selected based on their knowledge of USDA's meat and poultry slaughter inspections and food safety.

What GAO Found

To help ensure the safety of our nation's food supply, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed standards limiting the amount of Salmonella and Campylobacter —pathogens that can cause foodborne illness in humans—permitted in certain meat (beef and pork) and poultry (chicken and turkey) products, such as ground beef, pork carcasses, and chicken breasts. However, the agency has not developed standards for other products that are widely available, such as turkey breasts and pork chops. Further, its process for deciding which products to consider for new standards is unclear because it is not fully documented, which is not consistent with federal standards for internal control. For example, USDA has informed stakeholders that it will take into account factors including consumption and illness data, but the agency has not documented this process going forward. Previously, USDA had developed new standards after widespread outbreaks indicated the need. For example, in 2016, USDA concluded that new standards were needed for certain poultry products to reduce Salmonella after reviewing outbreaks from these products in 2011, 2013, and 2015—outbreaks in which 794 people were sickened and 1 died. By documenting the agency's process for deciding which products to consider for new standards, USDA could better ensure that such decisions will be risk-based.
USDA is taking steps to address challenges GAO identified in 2014 for reducing pathogens in poultry products, but these challenges are ongoing and could affect USDA's ability to reduce pathogens in meat as well. For example, one challenge GAO identified is that the level of pathogens in poultry products can be affected by practices on farms where poultry are raised. GAO recommended in 2014 that to help overcome this challenge, USDA guidelines on practices for controlling Salmonella and Campylobacter on farms include information on the effectiveness of each of the practices, consistent with a recommendation from a USDA advisory committee. Since GAO's 2014 report, USDA drafted revised guidelines to include information on the effectiveness of on-farm practices for controlling pathogens in poultry and beef cattle, in 2015 and 2017, respectively. However, USDA's draft guidelines for controlling Salmonella in hogs do not contain such information. By including such information as it finalizes its draft guidelines, USDA could better inform industry of the potential benefits of adopting on-farm practices included in the guidelines and encourage implementation of such practices.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making three recommendations, including that USDA document its process for deciding which products to consider for new standards and that it include information on the effectiveness of on-farm practices in its guidelines for Salmonella control in hogs. USDA agreed with GAO's recommendations and described actions it will take to implement them.