Constituent Update - June 13, 2025

Constituent Update - June 13, 2025

FSIS to Update the Allergen Analysis Method

FSIS revised its allergen method, Screening and Confirmation of Allergens by XMAP® (CLG-ALG1) to reflect recent updates in allergen testing policy and laboratory practices. These changes align with Food and Drug Administration allergen guidance, Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Allergen Labeling (Edition 5), and improve overall laboratory efficiency. The updated method will be posted no later than June 16, 2025, on the Chemistry Laboratory Guidebook page of the FSIS website.

As outlined in the April 18, 2025, Constituent Update, FSIS is in the process of updating allergen-related programs, including the removal of coconut as a major food allergen. As part of this effort, FSIS laboratories are no longer reporting the presence of coconut in testing results, and coconut has been removed from the scope of the method.

The updated method also includes a new, validated stopping point in the extraction process. This change allows analysts to start the analysis and store extracted allergens overnight and continue with the analysis the following day even when samples arrive late. The added flexibility improves efficiency and reduces overall program sample result turnaround times, directly supporting the agency's food inspection activities.

For questions regarding specific elements of any method, contact FSIS through AskFSIS.

FSIS Announces New Microbiological Accreditation Opportunity for Listeria

FSIS' Accredited Lab Program (ALP) is now offering Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) accreditations. This initiative aims to increase availability of reliable laboratory services for establishments to perform testing associated with the Listeria Rule and maintain sanitation in their processing environments.

FSIS is accepting applications for accreditation and qualification sets will be offered for acceptance into the program. Future proficiency testing rounds will be listed on the ALP website under the "Estimated Proficiency Testing Schedule for 2025" drop down tab.

FSIS is committed to protecting public health and strengthening the agency's programs geared towards assisting establishments develop and execute effective food safety systems. Lm is a serious pathogen that causes listeriosis, which results in around 1,600 infections and 260 deaths per year. Listeriosis is commonly attributed to consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, including deli meat. Listeria can persist in the processing environment at very low levels and can be hard to detect. Establishments producing post-lethality exposed RTE products perform testing according to the requirements in 9 CFR 430, the Listeria Rule, to control Lm in their products. FSIS also analyzes RTE samples for non-Lm Listeria spp., according to FSIS Notice 50-24, to provide more information about the establishment's sanitation program.

The ALP is a voluntary fee-based program that provides establishments access to accredited laboratories that can perform reliable food safety testing services for the routine testing that establishments conduct to support their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-based food safety systems.

FSIS to Change the Posting Date for FSIS Salmonella Performance Categorization

To reduce incorrect categorization and associated follow-up sampling, FSIS will reschedule calculating individual establishment windows' results and the monthly posting until approximately the first week of each month. Follow-up samples will still be assigned approximately 30 days after the establishment is alerted to categorization status. FSIS will implement this update on June 20, 2025. Categorization and sampling results accessed via Public Health Information System reports will be available July 8, 2025, following the implementation. Additionally, the July 2025 establishment categories web posting will occur in early August 2025 for the window ending June 30, 2025. For each subsequent month, the category will be posted online the first week of the month.

On April 1, 2024, FSIS implemented the exclusion of Salmonella poultry vaccine strains identified during FSIS sampling from categorization calculations (CU March 1, 2024). FSIS currently calculates each establishment's category 10 days after a 52-week window ends. In addition, FSIS posts category information through the final window of the previous month around the 20th of every month. However, the results from whole genome sequencing (WGS) are not available until 14 days after the category is currently calculated. Therefore, if a sample is positive with a Salmonella poultry vaccine strain, it is currently included in the category calculations as a positive until WGS results identify it as a vaccine strain. The FSIS webpage Salmonella Verification Testing Program Monthly Posting will be updated to reflect the new posting month and reference period.

Export Requirements Update

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

• Turks & Caicos Islands
• Canada
• Jamaica
• Dominican Republic
• South Africa
• Chile
• Singapore
• Mexico
• Albania
• Turkey
• Azerbaijan

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