Attachments to this report:

• Tables 1a, 1b | Tables 2a, 2b | Tables 3-7 | Tables 8a, 8b
•  All charts and figures are contained within the PDF version of this report.

Executive Summary

During the last quarter:

• There were 4,013 samples collected and analyzed for the PR/HACCP Verification program.
• There were a total of zero (0) PR/HACCP samples collected for ground chicken and ground turkey because sampling of ground poultry was suspended at the start of the Not Ready To Eat (NRTE) Comminuted Poultry Sampling Project, except in Category 3 establishments.
• From the previous quarter, the percentage of plants in Category 3:
  • Decreased for Young Chicken plants (4.5% to 3.4%; from 8 out of 176 plants to 6 out of 175 plants)
  • Did not change for Turkey plants (5.7%; 2 out of 35 plants)
  • Decreased for Ground Beef plants (2.3% to 2.0%; from 7 out of 306 plants to 6 out of 303 plants)
  • Decreased for Ground Chicken plants (14.3% to 0%; from 1 out of 7 plants to 0 out of 6 plants)
  • Remained the same for Ground Turkey plants (0%; 0 out of 22 plants)
• There were 1,782 samples co-analyzed for Campylobacter, with the following percent positive results:
  • Young Chicken – 5.9% (1,415 samples analyzed)
  • Turkeys – 1.6% (367 samples analyzed)
• Across all product classes, 85.2% of all establishments are in Category 1, while 2.6% are in Category 3. The remaining plants are in some version of Category 2.
• NRTE Comminuted Poultry Sampling Project Results for all finished products are:
  • Salmonella – 47.57% (1687 out of 3546 samples)
  • Campylobacter – 7.28% (258 out of 3545 samples)

This report discusses the Salmonella and Campylobacter verification sampling results for the first quarter CY2014 as presented in Tables 1-7, Chart 1, and Figures 1-7. [1]  It also includes sampling results from the NRTE Comminuted Poultry Sampling Project as presented in Tables 8a and 8b. [2]

Tables 1a and 1b 
Tables 1a and 1b describe the Salmonella performance standards/guidance for five product classes and allowed positives for category 1, 2T, 2 and 3.

Tables 2a and 2b
Table 2a summarizes Salmonella verification samples including Salmonella positive results, based on sample collection date, from January - March 2014 for all five product classes. Table 2b summarizes quantitative (1 ml—regulatory) Campylobacter verification samples including Campylobacter positive results, based on sample collection date, from January - March 2014 for young chicken and turkey carcasses.

Tables 3-7 
Tables 3-7 report the proportion of establishments by categories that have completed at least two recent Salmonella verification-sampling sets. New establishments are not identified in any category until FSIS has documented the results from two sets. An establishment with its last set ≤ 50% of the performance standard or guidance and the prior set at > 50% of the performance standard or guidance is sub-categorized as 2T, with T standing for transitioning to Category 1. Young chicken and young turkey set results are classified using the performance standards that were in place at the time the set was initiated. Table 5 (ground beef) continues to report only those establishments eligible for traditional PR/HACCP Salmonella verification sampling and that have completed two sets.

Tables 8a and 8b  
Table 8a summarizes Salmonella positive results from June 2013 - March 2014 for the NRTE Comminuted Poultry Sampling Project. Table 8b summarizes Campylobacter positive results from June 2013 - March 2014 for chicken and turkey comminuted products for the NRTE Comminuted Poultry Sampling Project. [2]  Both tables also display the quartile distributions of percent positives among the sampled establishments for each type of product.

MT43S 
A total of 1,000 samples in the low volume ground beef sampling program (MT43S) were collected and analyzed from January - March 2014, and two (2) samples (0.2%) were positive for Salmonella.

Chart 1 
This chart represents the total percentage of establishments within product classes classified by category and sub-category. This chart indicates that as of March 31, 2014, 85.2% of establishments are in Category 1, 6.5% are in Category 2T, 5.7% are in Category 2, and 2.6% are in Category 3.

Figures 1-5 
Figures 1-5 summarize Salmonella positive results by product classes for the most recent five quarters.

Figures 6-7 
Figures 6-7 summarize Campylobacter positive results by product classes for the most recent five quarters.

NOTE: While earlier quarterly reports included individual sample results from “A” sets only, the current report format summarizes data from all sets. This change was discussed in the 2006-second quarterly report, which can be accessed on the FSIS website: www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/data-collection-and-reports/microbiology/quarterly-reports-salmonella/q2-cy-2006/.

Additional information regarding this report

In order to handle sample scheduling more efficiently and to update information on actively producing establishments, the Agency continues to automate the sampling algorithm process. Therefore, the total number of active operating establishments can change from quarter to quarter as establishments exit or enter the industry. This change does not apply to intermittently-producing establishments. The Agency will continue to categorize them because they are considered to be operating at some level.

Given the revised sampling strategy, the percentage of positive samples is no longer useful as an indicator of trends. As described above, FSIS has implemented placing establishments into Category 1, 2T, 2, or 3 as an alternative trend indicator for the Salmonella verification sampling program. While the Agency does not expect the category trend indicator to vary greatly on a quarterly basis, it should facilitate tracking of overall industry performance when examined over multiple years. Other trend indicators continue to be considered.

Beginning March 28, 2008, FSIS posted completed Salmonella sample set results from young chicken slaughter establishments with variable (Category 2) and highly variable (Category 3) process control. Currently only Category 3 young chicken slaughter establishments are posted on the FSIS website.  In January 2014, there were eight (8) establishments in Category 3 and in February and March 2014, seven (7) establishments were in Category 3. FSIS continues to update this information on or about the 15th of each month. The current posting can be accessed at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/data-collection-and-reports/microbiology/salmonella-verification-testing-program/.  

As announced in the January 2008 Federal Register Notice: Salmonella Verification Sampling Program: Response to Comments and New Agency Policies (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/dab45316-44b2-4d75-a91e-a70f83b0cf7d/2006-0034.pdf?MOD=AJPERES), turkey establishments in Category 2 and 3 were eligible for posting to the FSIS website beginning May 15,  2008. The Agency is still considering publishing category results for establishments in additional product classes. Annual reports summarizing results for calendar years are available on the FSIS website as well as previous quarterly reports. The restructuring of Salmonella set scheduling, however, means that it is inappropriate to compare results from 2006 onwards to previous years. Similarly, the changes to the Salmonella verification-sampling program prevent valid comparisons of testing results over time (e.g., quarter-to-quarter or year-to-year trends).

Tables

Table 1a: Salmonella Product classes, performance standards/guidance, and allowed positives for Category 1, 2T, 2 and 3.

◊Maximum number of positives is set at the number which would provide 80% likelihood of an establishment passing the sample set, if it were operating at exactly the performance standard (e.g. there is an 80% chance that a young chicken plant that has Salmonella in exactly 7.5% of its product getting 5 or fewer positive samples out of a set of 51).

*New performance standards for young chicken and turkey carcasses were implemented July 1, 2011

§Establishment category, which is based on the most recent two sets completed

ΦFSIS is now rounding down the allowable positives for Category 1 status for those product classes having odd numbered standards or guidelines. Therefore the current performance standards will be: Young Chicken (Category1: ≤2 vs. ≤3 Salmonella positive results), Ground Beef (Category 1: ≤2 vs. ≤3 Salmonella positive results), and Ground Turkey (Category 1: ≤14 vs. ≤15 Salmonella positive results).

Table 1b: Campylobacter Product classes, performance standards/guidance, and allowed positives for Category 1, 2T, 2 and 3.

Categories for Campylobacter To Be Determined (T.B.D.)

Table 2a: Percent Positive Salmonella Tests (All Samples) in the PR/HACCP Verification Testing Program by Product Class and Establishment Size - First Quarter CY2014 (January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2014).

Table 2b: Percent Positive Quantitative (1 ml—regulatory) Campylobacter Tests (All Samples) in the PR/HACCP Verification Testing Program by Product Class and Establishment Size - First Quarter CY2014 (January 1, 2014 through March 31, 2014).

Table 3: Young Chicken Establishments by Category, 1st Quarter CY2014

*Total Number of Establishments Currently Operating and Subject to Sampling That Have At Least Two Completed Sets

Table 4: Turkey Establishments by Category, 1st Quarter CY2014

*Total Number Of Establishments Currently Operating and Subject to Sampling That Have At Least Two Completed Sets.

Table 5: Ground Beef Establishments by Category, 1st Quarter CY2014

*Total Number of Establishments Currently Operating and Subject to Sampling That Have At Least Two Completed Sets.

Table 6: Ground Chicken Establishments by Category, 1st Quarter CY2014

*Total Number of Establishments Currently Operating and Subject to Sampling That Have At Least Two Completed Sets

Table 7: Ground Turkey Establishments by Category, 1st Quarter CY2014

*Total Number Of Establishments Currently Operating and Subject to Sampling That Have At Least Two Completed Sets.

Table 8a: Percent Positive Salmonella Tests (All Samples) in the NRTE Comminuted Poultry Sampling Project by Reported Finished Product Category – All Samples (June 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014)**

**NOTE: The finished product information is obtained here through inspection personnel responses on the sampling forms and is subject to further review by the Agency for future analyses.

Table 8b: Percent Positive Campylobacter Tests (All Samples) in the NRTE Comminuted Poultry Sampling Project by reported Finished Product Category - All Samples (June 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014)**

**NOTE: The finished product information is obtained here through inspection personnel responses on the sampling forms and is subject to further review by the Agency for future analyses.

Data Source: FSIS Data Warehouse