WASHINGTON — The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it would invite poultry slaughter and processing businesses to submit proposals for pilot projects to test different control strategies for Salmonella contamination in poultry products.

Each project would last for a defined period where companies would experiment with new or existing pathogen control and measurement strategies and share its collected data with the agency. FSIS would then analyze the data and determine whether to support changes to Salmonella control strategies already in place.

A project was announced on March 30 with the Pilgrim’s Pride facility in Mount Pleasant, Texas. The company will look at the merits and logistics of excluding Salmonella poultry vaccine strains from FSIS Salmonella performance categorization.

The agency will consider other proposals from active poultry establishments (or parent corporations) that produce raw products subject to FSIS’ Salmonella performance standards.

“Key partners such as breeders, live animal producers and allied businesses (i.e., consultants, testing or intervention technology developers) are encouraged to assist in these projects, but the proposals must be received from poultry establishments under FSIS jurisdiction and authority,” FSIS added.

In October 2021, the agency said it would start a new effort to reduce Salmonella illnesses that stem from poultry products.

The following month, FSIS held roundtable listening sessions with industry and consumer groups to answer questions about establishing pilot projects.