FSIS yesterday notified the Center for Science in the Public Interest that it has denied its three-year-old petition to have the agency declare four antibiotic-resistant strains of Salmonella as adulterants in ground meat and poultry products. “After thoroughly reviewing the available data, FSIS has concluded that the data does not support giving the four strains of [antibiotic-resistant] Salmonella identified in the petition a different status as an adulterant in raw ground meat and raw ground poultry than Salmonella strains susceptible to antibiotics,” said the nine-page letter signed by Daniel Engeljohn, assistant administrator of the FSIS Office of Policy and Program Development. In its denial of the petition, USDA said more data was needed.
