Consumer Reports submitted a letter urging the USDA to release data validating Salmonella testing methods for not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) breaded stuffed chicken products. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) previously established a strict Salmonella limit of 1 CFU/g for the source material used in these products, but recently delayed enforcement by claiming that current testing methods produce false positives at low contamination levels.
Noting that FSIS previously confirmed the existence of accurate molecular test kits that overcome these limitations, CR calls on the agency to be transparent and provide the specific data supporting both its initial test validation and its recent claims of testing inaccuracies.