USDA Proposes New Rules to Limit the Salmonella Allowed in Chicken

Under current rules, raw poultry is not recalled due to salmonella contamination. Previous CR tests have found that it's common.

By Lisa L. Gill
Investigative Reporter

July 29, 2024

A closeup shot of broiler chickens into the indoor chicken farm

The Department of Agriculture released a set of proposed rules today aimed at reducing salmonella levels allowed in raw chicken and turkey sold in retail stores.

Currently, if poultry producers’ products test positive for salmonella, the USDA will investigate, monitor whether there are illnesses linked to those products, and request a recall if there is a link, says Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at CR. "However, a company can still sell chicken and turkey with elevated salmonella levels during an investigation."

“This is the first time the USDA has proposed establishing a threshold and the consequence of a recall due to salmonella found in specific poultry products," says Ronholm.

Those actions would be triggered if raw poultry was found to exceed 10 colony-forming units (CFU), and found to be contaminated at any level with one of the three types of salmonella that pose a threat to human health: enteritidis, typhimurium, and I,4,[5],12:i:-. The same limit would apply as well to turkey if it’s found to be contaminated with the typhimurium, hadar, or muenchen strains of salmonella.

Each year, roughly 125,000 people are sickened by salmonella found in chicken, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal agencies have said that reducing that number is an important public health goal, says CR’s Ronholm. “That’s why today’s actions are so important. It’s the first major, meaningful step toward protecting consumers from harmful salmonella bacteria. Too much contaminated chicken winds up on consumers’ plates.”

The filthy and crowded conditions in which most chickens are raised means that salmonella can easily spread from one bird to another, says Ronholm. CR’s tests in 2022 of ground meats, including ground chicken and turkey, found salmonella in almost a third of the 75 samples. Ninety-one percent of the ground chicken samples that tested positive for salmonella were contaminated with one of the three strains that pose the biggest threat to human health. And organic meat fared no better.

The new proposed rules would also require poultry producers to establish a way to monitor potential contamination throughout the food processing system. They include “enforceable standards that will result in safer food for consumers and fewer illnesses,” said Tom Vilsack, the USDA secretary, in the press release.

Earlier this year, the agency also finalized a rule that classifies salmonella as an adulterant if it’s detected in breaded, stuffed chicken.

CR’s food safety experts have long called for the USDA to declare salmonella an adulterant in raw poultry in certain circumstances—as the agency has done for deadly, toxin-producing strains of E. coli, such as E. coli O157:H7, in ground beef.

Risk of Salmonella

Symptoms of a salmonella infection can include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps, and can begin between 6 hours and six days after infection. They can last up to seven days. Most people will get better without treatment. But for older people and very young children, or those with compromised immune systems, salmonella can become severe. More than 26,000 people are hospitalized with salmonella each year, and about 420 people die, according to the CDC.

How to Stay Safe From Salmonella

The USDA’s proposed rules will be up for public comment soon. But it could take months before anything is finalized, says CR’s Ronholm. In the meantime, you don’t have to wait to take necessary steps in your kitchen to stay safe and reduce your risk of salmonella, says James E. Rogers, PhD, director of food safety research and testing at CR. These include:

Keep food separated while shopping at the grocery store. Keep raw meats in a disposable bag, away from other foods, especially ones you’re likely to eat without cooking—like fruit and salad.

Store raw meat in a bag or bowl. In the refrigerator, you want to make sure you keep meat juices from leaking.

Thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator so that it stays below 40° F. Doing so will impede the growth of bacteria.

Don’t rinse raw meat. That’s because doing so can spread bacteria around your sink or counter.

Wash your hands in hot soapy water before prepping, after you touch raw meat, and again when you’re finished. Wash knives used on meat before using them to cut other foods.

Use a separate cutting board for meat. Keep another one specifically for vegetables and other non-meat foods.

Cook poultry to an internal temperature of 165° F and use a meat thermometer to check. It’s the only sure way to make sure you’ve cooked chicken and turkey to the temperature you need to kill salmonella.

Lisa L. Gill

Lisa L. Gill is an award-winning investigative reporter. She has been at Consumer Reports since 2008, covering health and food safety—heavy metals in the food supply and foodborne illness—plus healthcare and prescription drug costs, medical debt, and credit scores. Lisa also testified before Congress and the Food and Drug Administration about her work on drug costs and drug safety. She lives in a DIY tiny home, where she gardens during the day and stargazes the Milky Way at night.