USDA withdrew proposed new salmonella regulations in poultry, but that doesn't mean the bacteria will be unregulated

In late April and early May 2025, a claim (archived) circulated online that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would no longer require companies to limit salmonella bacteria in poultry products. 

For example, one Facebook user wrote: "The Agriculture Department will not require poultry companies to limit salmonella bacteria in their products, halting a Biden Administration effort to prevent food poisoning from contaminated meat."

The rumor also appeared on X (archived), Bluesky (archived), Reddit (archived) and TikTok (archived).

However, while it is true that the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) withdrew a proposal aimed at reducing salmonella in raw poultry products, that withdrawal did not leave salmonella levels in poultry completely unregulated. The FSIS continues to regulate salmonella levels at poultry processing plants according to "performance standards" for products including raw chicken. These standards have existed since 1996. Therefore, we have rated this claim false.

A USDA spokesperson said via email that its most recent performance standards, set in 2016, continue to be enforced and that the withdrawn proposal "has never gone into effect, and was merely a proposal, therefore there is no effect on the safety of the food supply chain."

Salmonella bacteria can cause salmonella infection, also known as salmonellosis, in humans. The infection usually causes diarrhea, a fever and other stomach issues, according to the Mayo Clinic. Most healthy people can recover from a salmonella infection within a few days. In serious cases, diarrhea can cause life-threatening dehydration. If the infection spreads beyond the intestines, it can cause other life-threatening complications.

According to 2023 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are about 1.35 million cases of salmonellosis per year in the U.S. Of those cases, around 26,500 result in hospitalizations and 420 in deaths.

Current framework means FSIS cannot shut down plants on salmonella test results alone

At the time of this writing, the USDA's FSIS has "performance standards" for poultry processing plants with a view to reducing bacteria levels. The USDA published the most recent edition of these standards in 2016.

The agency tests products for salmonella at poultry processing plants and, depending on how often results exceed the "maximum acceptable percent positive" as defined in the standards, classes plants into one of three categories. Plants in Category 3 have "exceeded the maximum allowable percent positive during the most recently completed 52-week moving window." The agency publishes the results of its tests regularly on its website.

Plants in Category 3 face increased inspections from the FSIS until results improve. In its 2016 framework, the FSIS wrote (our emphasis):

If, after 90 days, the establishment has not been able to gain process control, as determined from FSIS's follow-up sampling and from the results of the PHRE or FSA, and the establishment has not taken corrective actions, FSIS will likely take enforcement actions, such as by issuing a Notice of Intended Enforcement (NOIE) or by suspending inspection, under the conditions and according to the procedures described in 9 CFR part 500. FSIS will not issue an NOIE or suspend inspection based solely on the fact that an establishment did not meet a performance standard.

The guidance on NOIEs and performance standards marks a key difference from the proposed 2024 framework (outlined below). Because FSIS can't use its regulatory tools, such as suspending or withdrawing inspections, on Category 3 plants if its only justification is salmonella performance standards, that means the plants can continue to operate. 

Short of FSIS enforcement actions, poultry processing plants can be motivated to stay out of Category 3 by their buyers — for example, supermarkets might not want to purchase goods from plants in Category 3, or buyers might include terms in their contracts that plants must remain in a certain category of performance standards. The 2016 framework says that public postings of categories can be seen online, meaning that processing plants "could be potentially affected by the postings because consumers and wholesale buyers in the poultry supply chain can equally view the Web site."

Withdrawn framework would have given USDA the power to stop sale of contaminated products

The USDA announced the now-withdrawn proposed framework in 2024. 

Under that framework, the FSIS would have considered raw chicken and turkey products with salmonella levels exceeding set "final product standards" adulterated. In terms of meat and food products, federal legislation considers items adulterated if they are unsafe for human consumption for various reasons. Adulterated products — in this case meaning those testing above the "final product standards" set by the FSIS — may not be sold or, if already in circulation, may be recalled.

According to the 2024 proposal, products would breach "final product standards" if they contained "any type of Salmonella at or above 10 colony forming units/per milliliter or gram" and "any detectable level of at least one of the salmonella serotypes of public health significance identified for that commodity."

The proposal identified six serotypes of salmonella that were of "public health significance": Enteritidis, Typhimurium and the awkwardly named I 4,[5],12:i:- in chicken, and Hadar, Typhimurium and Muenchen in raw turkey. The FSIS said the serotypes were classed as being of "public health significance" because they were "highly virulent."

The FSIS took similar action in 1994 for a certain strain of E. coli in ground beef after it caused a massive illness outbreak in the Pacific Northwest. The FSIS will also begin verification sampling of "not-ready-to-eat" (NRTE) breaded stuffed chicken products for salmonella in November 2025.

Allowing raw chicken with salmonella levels exceeding "final product standards" to be considered adulterated would have marked a significant change from the current regulatory "performance standards." As the FSIS wrote in its proposal:

However, because Salmonella is not currently considered an adulterant in raw poultry, the Agency cannot withhold the mark of inspection or otherwise prevent products produced in an establishment that has failed the performance standards from entering commerce based solely on the establishment's performance standard results (75 FR 27288, 27293-4). This proposal, on the other hand, would set an enforceable final product standard that prevents raw poultry products with certain levels and types of Salmonella contamination, which would be classified as adulterants, from entering the stream of commerce.

It was unclear at the time of this writing whether the USDA intended to propose a new regulatory framework for salmonella in place of the one it withdrew. The USDA said in its withdrawal that it would "evaluate" whether it should update the current performance standards.

Critics of the withdrawal — like the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Consumer Federation of America, two consumer watchdog groups that deal with topics including food safety — said government inaction was "certain to make Americans sicker" and placed an "unfair burden" on consumers.

Foodsafety.gov, the U.S. government's food safety information website, provides guidance for consumers to avoid salmonella when cooking with products that may carry the bacteria.

The Meat Institute, the National Chicken Council, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Consumer Federation of America and Stop Foodborne Illness provided assistance with interpreting the current salmonella framework and the USDA's withdrawn proposal for this article.