Constituent Update - June 18, 2026

Constituent Update - June 18, 2026

Better Data, Better Decisions: FSIS Refines the RTE Weekly Questionnaire

Earlier this week, FSIS issued Notice 26-26, which updates the Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Questionnaire. Over the past year, in-plant personnel have worked with establishments to complete the weekly Ready-to-Eat Questionnaire Task, providing critical information that has strengthened FSIS' ability to verify that establishments producing RTE meat, poultry, and egg products are effectively controlling Listeria monocytogenes (Lm).

This weekly input has helped build a clearer, more comprehensive picture of conditions across establishments-offering visibility into sanitation practices, infrastructure updates, construction activities, environmental risks, and establishment testing results. These insights have played a key role in identifying trends, informing recommendations, and ensuring oversight where it's needed most. Most importantly, the participation has turned individual observations into meaningful, actionable insights that support public health.

In response to data analysis results, FSIS has streamlined the RTE Questionnaire to three focused questions, making it faster and easier to complete each week while centering on those questions that have the greatest impact on public health and the risk of Listeria contamination within an establishment. The updated format continues to provide valuable information that supports program improvements, strengthens oversight, and helps FSIS make informed decisions.

FSIS Updated Import Presented Refused and Import Refusal Reason Datasets

Today, FSIS updated the Import Presented Refused and Import Refusal Reason datasets on the Import and Export Data page. The Import Presented Refused dataset includes lot-level information for import volume along with import refusal data at the lot-level. The Import Refusal Reason is provided as a secondary dataset, providing each refusal reason as its own row to facilitate analysis.

The Import Presented Refused and Import Refusal Reason datasets are updated monthly and posted the third Friday of each month, with data broken out by fiscal year (FY), starting with data from FY 2014 (starting on October 1, 2013) through the most recent FY. These datasets are released in an open, non-proprietary comma separated values (csv) format. Instructions on how to open csv files using Excel are available on the FSIS Sampling web page in the Comma Separated Values Guide section.

Available for Public Comment

FSIS seeks public comments on proposed rules and notices, which are viewable on the FSIS Federal Register & Rulemaking webpage. FSIS is currently seeking comments on the following:

• Until July 6: Availability of Revised Food Safety Guideline for Egg Products

Policy Update

FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available on the FSIS Policy webpage. The following policy update was recently issued:

FSIS Notice 25-26: Implementation of USDA Lump-Sum Relocation Expense Pilot Program

FSIS Notice 26-26: Reissued Public Health Information System Ready-To-Eat Questionnaire Task

FSIS Notice 27-26: Annual Notice To High-Mileage Drivers and Fleet Resource Managers - Fiscal Year 2027

Export Requirements Update

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

FSIS:

• Hong Kong
• Korea

APHIS:

• Azerbaijan
• Japan
• Taiwan

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

Complete information for APHIS products can be found at Export Restrictions on U.S. Animal Products for Human Consumption website. Select the countries listed above from the drop down menu for complete information.