Food Safety: USDA Should Take Additional Actions to Strengthen Oversight of Meat and Poultry

Fast Facts

Federal oversight of food safety has been on our High Risk List since 2007. Yet, harmful bacteria in food sickens 1 in 6 Americans and kills thousands each year.

Salmonella and Listeria are two bacteria commonly associated with foodborne illness. While some bacteria are normally found in meat and poultry, too much of it can make people sick. For example, in 2018 USDA designated Salmonella as harmful when it's present above certain levels in uncooked breaded stuffed chicken products.

USDA plans to finalize similar safety standards for bacteria found in other meat and poultry products but has yet to do so.

We recommended addressing this, and more.

In 2024, ready-to-eat meats in delis across the country were recalled for Salmonella and Listeria contamination

Ready-to-eat deli meats

Highlights

What GAO Found

Salmonella and Campylobacter are among the types of bacteria known to commonly cause foodborne illness in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) designated Salmonella in “not ready-to-eat” breaded stuffed chicken products an “adulterant”—a poisonous or deleterious substance—if present at certain levels. However, since that time, FSIS has not finalized any new or updated standards for Campylobacter and other illness-causing pathogens in meat and poultry products. It paused work on several standards to focus on a framework of standards for Salmonella in raw poultry.

Status of Proposed Pathogen Standards as of January 2025

Proposed standard	Year proposed	Status	Year last updated
Salmonella in raw ground beef and beef trimmings	2019	Paused	1996 (when initial standard was set)
Campylobacter in not ready-to-eat comminuted chicken	2019	Paused	2016
Campylobacter in not ready-to-eat comminuted turkey	2019	Paused	2011 (for carcasses) 2016 (for comminuted turkey)
Salmonella in raw comminuted pork and pork cuts	2022	Paused	No previous standards
Framework of standards for Salmonella in raw poultry	2024	Ongoing	2016

Source: Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) information. │ GAO-25-107613

Note: Comminuted meat and poultry has been cut, chopped, or ground into small particles. According to FSIS, the term “not ready-to-eat” means that the product is heat treated but not fully cooked and is not shelf stable.

Agency officials said that after finalizing the raw poultry Salmonella framework, FSIS plans to use a similar approach to developing the other standards. But they did not know when the framework would be finalized or have a prioritization plan or time frame for resuming work on the other standards. FSIS officials could not confirm that the agency had assessed whether focusing on this framework has caused gaps in its oversight of Salmonella in meat and Campylobacter in turkey products. By assessing any risks to human health that these gaps created and documenting how it is prioritizing its actions, FSIS will better understand the tradeoffs of its approach to reducing pathogens and associated illnesses.

FSIS faces two ongoing challenges to reducing food pathogens: (1) developing and updating standards, as described above, and (2) its limited control outside of the slaughter and processing plants it oversees. USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has jurisdiction over farms, where animals can become contaminated with pathogens before they are sent to slaughter and processing. FSIS and APHIS's 2014 memorandum of understanding (MOU) for coordinating responses to foodborne illness outbreaks does not identify or detail the agencies' responsibilities in addressing and responding to specific pathogens that occur on farms and can subsequently enter plants. Updating their MOU, or developing a new agreement, will better position FSIS and APHIS to reduce pathogens in meat and poultry products.

Why GAO Did This Study

The U.S. food supply is generally considered safe, but foodborne illness remains a common and costly public health problem. Each year, foodborne illnesses sicken one in six Americans, and thousands die, according to CDC's most recent estimates. A July 2024 outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes made at least 61 people in 19 states sick and had caused 10 deaths, as of November 21, 2024. Improving federal oversight of food safety has been on GAO's High Risk List since 2007.

In September 2014 and March 2018, GAO reported on USDA actions to reduce foodborne pathogens and challenges that FSIS faced. In the 2018 report, GAO found that FSIS implemented recommendations from the 2014 report but had not set pathogen standards for many widely available products.

This report provides an update on the status of USDA's efforts. It examines (1) the extent to which FSIS has developed pathogen standards for meat and poultry products and (2) challenges FSIS faces in reducing food pathogens and steps it has taken to address them. GAO reviewed relevant laws, regulations, and USDA documents. GAO also interviewed agency officials and food safety and industry organizations and visited a FSIS laboratory.

Recommendations

GAO is making five recommendations, including that FSIS document its prioritization of pathogen standards and assess risks to human health from any gaps in its oversight and that FSIS and APHIS update their MOU or create a new agreement. FSIS neither agreed nor disagreed.

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Food Safety and Inspection Service	The Administrator of FSIS should develop a prioritization plan to fully document which products to address and the additional policies needed to effectively address pathogen reduction for Salmonella in meat and standards for Campylobacter in turkey parts. (Recommendation 1)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Food Safety and Inspection Service	The Administrator of FSIS should review the public health impacts of delaying proposed pathogen standards for Salmonella in meat and standards for Campylobacter in turkey parts, to inform a prioritization plan. This review could include assessing risks to human health and gathering information about potential gaps in oversight. (Recommendation 2)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Food Safety and Inspection Service	The Administrator of FSIS should update its memorandum of understanding with APHIS, or create a new agreement, to clearly identify specific pathogens of concern and each agency's responsibilities in coordinating and responding to these pathogens' occurrence in outbreak investigation activities. (Recommendation 3)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service	The Administrator of APHIS should update its memorandum of understanding with FSIS, or create a new agreement, to clearly identify specific pathogens of concern and each agency's responsibilities in coordinating and responding to these pathogens' occurrence in outbreak investigation activities. (Recommendation 4)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Food Safety and Inspection Service	The Administrator of FSIS should offer educational materials, such as signage, to its regulated plants on sanitation to support their efforts to comply with FSIS's requirements and guidance to reduce the spread of pathogens in meat and poultry products. (Recommendation 5)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.