Constituent Update - July 25, 2025

Constituent Update - July 25, 2025

Trey Forsyth Named Acting Deputy Under Secretary

In July 2025, Trey Forsyth was named acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. In this role, Forsyth leads the USDA Office of Food Safety, which oversee FSIS.

Forsyth's roots in agriculture began at his family's swine and row crop farm in northeast Iowa. He gradually built expertise in agricultural policy, trade and sustainability. Today, he uses that farm-to-policy experience to support USDA's robust approach to keeping America's food supply safe.

Prior to joining USDA, Forsyth served as a professional staff member for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry for Chairman John Boozman. In this role, he handled livestock, poultry, dairy, animal health, food safety, and tax portfolios.

Additionally, Forsyth has served as senior manager of federal and industry relations for Land O'Lakes, director of government affairs at the Torrey Advisory Group, and also served as policy advisor to Gregg Doud, the Chief Agriculture Negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Reminder: FSIS Small Plant Roundtable in South Dakota

FSIS wants to hear from you!

The agency is holding a Small Plant Roundtable on July 30, 2025. This is a great opportunity to share thoughts, concerns and suggestions with the Des Moines District Office and subject matter experts from FSIS leadership.

FSIS South Dakota Small Plant Roundtable
July 30, 2025, 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Central Time
South Dakota University Student Union
1421 Student Union Ln
Brookings, SD 57007

Are you located within a reasonable driving distance? Consider attending the meeting in person! You can get a chance to interact directly with Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Office of Field Operations (OFO) Mr. William Griffin, Des Moines District Manger Mr. Jeffrey Jacobson, and Deputy Director for the Labeling and Program Delivery Staff Mr. Jeff Canavan.

If you're not able to join in person, you can use the Microsoft Teams link to attend virtually: FSIS 2025 South Dakota Roundtable. Virtual participants can also ask questions, share their concerns, and make their suggestions heard. Everyone is still welcome to attend in person or virtually, regardless of registration.

Questions? Contact FSIS OFO at [email protected].

Stakeholder Engagement: FSIS at AAMP

On July 24, FSIS was on the ground at the American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) 86th American Convention of Meat Processors & Suppliers in Kansas City, Mo. FSIS Deputy Administrator Dr. Denise Eblen provided updates during the opening session, highlighting USDA's new Five Point Plan to bolster food safety. The new plan includes enhanced testing, better inspector training, new Salmonella reduction efforts, stronger state partnerships, and empowering oversight.

This annual convention is a calendar staple for FSIS. Geared toward small and very small processors, it offers an opportunity to engage with industry, share information, and solicit feedback. More than 85% of FSIS-inspected facilities are small or very small operators. FSIS outreach to these businesses is a cornerstone of its mission, complementing the agency's many other programs and resources available to smaller producers to ensure they have the tools, guidance, and resources to comply with FSIS regulations and deliver products that are safe and wholesome.

Pictured above, from left: FSIS Deputy Chief of Staff Dr. Jenifer Tolan, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Field Operations Karen Hunter, FSIS Deputy Administrator Dr. Denise Eblen, and Frontline Supervisor Christina Picazo.

Reminder: FSIS to Onboard Peru and Papua New Guinea in PHIS Export Component

As announced in the May 2, 2025, Constituent Update, Peru and Papua New Guinea will be onboarded into FSIS' Public Health Information System (PHIS) export module on July 28, 2025. Industry users are encouraged to use the Industry Test Environment to test application submittals for export to Peru and Papua New Guinea prior to implementation.

As a reminder, to ease preparation and ensure a successful industry testing period, FSIS has provided industry users with testing instructions for export requirements unique to Peru. These instructions can be found on the Industry Testing Instructions: Peru PHIS Export webpage, or by navigating to the PHIS components page, under the heading "Export," then "Information for Industry," and subsequently under "Constituent Updates." Industry users are encouraged to test for Papua New Guinea as well, noting that Papua New Guinea accepts the 9060-5 only and does not require additional statements.

• PHIS Industry User Guide
• Editing 9060 Records Quick Reference Guide
• PHIS Quick Reference Guide for Corporate and Establishment Management

Contact [email protected] with questions regarding these changes. Technical questions can be directed to [email protected].

FSIS Posts Updated Quarterly Humane Handling Datasets

Today, the quarterly humane handling inspection datasets were updated on the FSIS website. The datasets include: (1) the number of administrative enforcement actions taken, (2) the number of humane handling verification tasks performed, (3) the number of humane handling verification tasks that resulted in a noncompliance record (NR), and (4) the number of hours spent observing and verifying the humane treatment of livestock. This posting contains the most recent four quarters of data by district, HACCP size, and quarter.

FSIS Posts Quarterly Sampling Data

FSIS has updated the following quarterly sampling data sets:

• Quarterly Sampling Results: The quarterly sampling report was updated to include results through the third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2025. Quarterly, FSIS calculates prevalence, volume weighted percent positive, or percent positive calculations for microbial pathogens in FSIS regulated products that are currently sampled through existing sampling projects using the prior 12 months of sampling data.
• Quarterly Sampling Reports for Salmonella Serotype Information: The quarterly sampling report for Salmonella serotype information was updated to include results through the second quarter of FY 2025. This post includes quarterly Salmonella serotype data for Salmonella isolates collected from FSIS product categories.

Upcoming Events

• July 30, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. CT: FSIS South Dakota Small Plant Roundtable

Export Requirements Update

The Library of Export Requirements has been updated for products for the following:

• Australia
• Azerbaijan
• North Macedonia
• Dominican Republic
• Jamaica
• Albania
• Egypt
• Chile
• Guatemala
• Vietnam
• Kuwait
• Singapore

Complete information can be found at the FSIS Import & Export Library.