Prepared For USDA’s New Regulation For NRTE Breaded Stuffed Chicken?

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced its final determination to declare Salmonella an adulterant in Not Read-To-Eat (NRTE) Raw Breaded Stuffed Chicken if the chicken product tests positive for Salmonella at 1 CFU per gram or higher. Producers of NRTE breaded stuffed chicken product must take action and implement controls to ensure compliance, which include:

• Reviewing process control measures during production, including validated cooking instructions and microbial testing protocols
• Reassessing your HACCP plan; if changes are made to production process because of the reassessment, the HACCP plan will need to be re-validated before the effective date of May 1, 2025

Although this determination is not effective until May 1, 2025, the FSIS will conduct verification procedures, including sampling and testing for Salmonella in NRTE breaded stuffed chicken products, with the goal of preventing consumer illness. Failure to comply could result in penalties, product recalls, and damage to brand and company reputation.

If you would like to learn more, please click on the link to access RQA’s Technical White Paper on this new FSIS regulation and/or contact Cheryl Alesso (c.alesso@rqa-inc.com) or Brian Giannini (b.giannini@rqa-inc.com) to discuss how RQA can assist in achieving your organizations food safety and compliance goals.