Regulacje i polityka gospodarcza · 9.12.1997

Retained Water in Poultry Products; Protocols for Obtaining Data on Meat and Poultry Chilling Processes

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is notifying the public of its interest in receiving and reviewing protocols for obtaining data on chilled, ready-to-cook poultry products and simultaneously requesting comments on the principles which it has tentatively identified to guide its review of those protocols. The data may be used: to benchmark the effectiveness of washing, chilling, and draining operations in minimizing pathogen growth and moisture retention in poultry products; and to develop proposed new regulations limiting retained moisture in poultry products. FSIS views the data collection as a necessary step in strengthening the basis for its regulations in the wake of a recent Federal District Court decision setting aside as ``arbitrary and capricious'' the regulatory limits on moisture absorption and retention in ready-to-cook whole chickens and turkeys. FSIS and the poultry industry have relied on these limits for many years to gauge the effectiveness of chilling processes in meeting the regulatory objective of minimizing moisture retention in poultry products. Any new regulatory limits on moisture retention must be based on sound data. The Agency is willing to rev