Rules & Regulations Regarding BSE
This fact sheet describes certain USDA and FSIS rules and regulations for the prevention of and testing for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

General BSE Questions & Answers
This fact sheet responds to general questions the public may have regarding Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), including how it is related to other diseases, what are its causes, and what FSIS is doing to protect the public from it.

Advanced Meat Recovery
Documents related to Advanced Meat Recovery, a technology that enables processors to remove remaining muscle tissue from beef carcasses without breaking bones.

Dioxin
Questions and answers for consumers; advisories and guidance for industry; historical information

Irradiation
News and documents related to the use of irradiation and history of FSIS' rulemaking.

FSIS Rule Designed to Reduce Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Meat & Poultry Products
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is issuing an interim final rule requiring that federal establishments producing certain ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products take meaningful steps to further reduce the incidence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Importing Meat, Poultry & Egg Products to the United States
This fact sheet provides a comparison of the FSIS and FDA import processes and details FSIS' reinspection and import application procedures.

Imported Meat, Poultry & Egg Products Remain Under USDA Jurisdiction
This document was written to clarify requirements and procedures for meat, poultry and egg products given that the Food and Drug Administration’s two interim final regulations of the Bioterrorism Act took effect on December 12, 2003.

Risk Analysis
The risk analysis paradigm includes three elements--risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication--and allows regulatory officials to focus finite resources on those hazards that pose the greatest risk to public health.

An Overview of the HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project
FSIS continues to reevaluate and make improvements to the HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP). The inspection procedures employed in the project appear to improve food safety and other consumer protections.

BAX®
FSIS has adopted the BAX® system to screen ready-to-eat products for Listeria monocytogenes. The BAX® screening test uses a polymerase chain reaction to amplify DNA.

Biosecurity & the Food Supply
Fact sheet provides an overview of FSIS biosecurity activities and describes actions resulting from FY 2002 Defense Appropriations Act.

FSIS Dioxin Survey for Meat & Poultry
The Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a survey to gather information on dioxin in U.S. meat and poultry products.

FSIS Food Recalls
Fact sheet presents key facts about the recall process in question-and-answer format.

FSIS Laboratories
FSIS has four laboratories staffed by approximately 200 employees, including microbiologists, chemists, and veterinary pathologists. This fact sheet discusses the roles of those laboratories.

FSIS Sets New Procedures for Plants That Fail Salmonella Tests
FSIS issued new procedures for responding to establishments that fail Salmonella performance standard testing for raw products.

Key Facts: ISO Accreditation
FSIS has received ISO Standard 17025 accreditation for procedures that the agency conducts at its three field service regulatory laboratories, located in Athens, GA, St. Louis, MO and Alameda, CA and at its Microbial Outbreaks and Special Projects Branch laboratory, located in Athens, GA.

New Measures to Address E. coli 0157:H7 Contamination
FSIS is adopting a series of new measures to further prevent Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 contamination in ground beef.

Revised Directive for Advanced Meat Recovery Systems
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a revision of an existing directive to ensure that plants using Advanced Meat Recovery (AMR) systems are following regulations designed to prevent spinal cord from entering the food supply misrepresented as meat.

Key Facts: Humane Slaughter
USDA considers humane methods of handling animals and humane slaughter operations a priority, and has a Farm Animal Well Being Task Force to address sound standards for the care, handling, transporting, and slaughter of farm animals. Learn more.

Nutrition Labeling Proposed For Raw Meat & Poultry Products
Fact sheet describes a proposal to extend mandatory nutrition labeling to single-ingredient raw meat and poultry products covered under the voluntary nutrition labeling program.

Product Labeling: Defining "U.S. Cattle" & "U.S. Fresh Beef Products"
FSIS sought public comments on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the definition of cattle and fresh beef products for labeling purposes.

USDA Rule on Retained Water in Meat & Poultry
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a final rule, effective Jan. 9, 2002, to limit the amount of water retained by raw, single-ingredient meat and poultry products.

Accomplishments of the HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project
In October 1999, FSIS began the project to determine whether new government slaughter inspection procedures, in conjunction with new plant responsibilities, can improve food safety, increase consumer protection, and provide flexibility for FSIS to use its resources more effectively.

FSIS Import Procedures for Meat, Poultry & Egg Products
Foreign countries that export meat, poultry, and egg products to the United States are required to establish and maintain inspection systems that are equivalent to those of the United States. FSIS audits foreign inspection systems and reinspects meat and poultry at the port-of-entry to ensure that foreign countries have maintained equivalent inspection systems.

Microbiological Testing Program for Meat & Poultry
FSIS has embarked on a major initiative to more fully integrate microbiological testing into its food safety program for meat and poultry. The initiative is one of a series of improvements USDA is undertaking as part of its Pathogen Reduction Program for meat and poultry product.

Irradiation of Raw Meat and Poultry, Questions & Answers
As part of the mission of preventing illness from the food we eat, the FSIS oversees the irradiation of raw meat and poultry. Here is some information about this process that can make meat and poultry safer.

Progress Report on Salmonella Testing of Raw Meat & Poultry Products
The progress report presents data for broilers, swine, ground beef, and ground turkey in large plants between January 26, 1998 and January 24, 2000 and data for broilers, swine, cows and bulls, and ground beef in small plants between January 25, 1999 and January 24, 2000.

Transition to the FSIS Workforce Of The Future
The FSIS workforce today, the vision for the future, and how the transition will be accomplished.

Update on the HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project--In-Plant Slaughter
This fact sheet was one of several providing updates on the HIMP.

Use of DES in the United States
In July 1999, Switzerland reported to the United States that it had found low levels of diethylstilbestrol (DES) in two samples of U.S. beef. The Swiss government sent the two positive samples to a European Union (EU) reference laboratory for reconfirmation. In October 1999, the EU laboratory issued a report stating, "we must conclude that our analyses do not confirm the presence of DES in the samples submitted for analysis."

Using the Claim "Certified Organic By..." on Meat & Poultry Product Labeling
FSIS is the agency in USDA that has the responsibility for assuring that the labeling of meat and poultry products is truthful and not misleading. This fact sheet has some background information from 2000; more current information is available within the Food Labeling Fact Sheets section.