USDA-FSIS to Exclude Salmonella Vaccine Strains from Performance Categorization

Effective April 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) will exclude current commercial vaccine subtypes of Salmonella confirmed in FSIS raw poultry samples from the calculation used to categorize establishments under the raw poultry Salmonella performance standards. FSIS examined Salmonella detection and serotype data from flocks vaccinated with a modified live Salmonella vaccine at pre- and post-intervention points in the participating slaughter establishments. The findings show that vaccine strains can occasionally be found in raw poultry products even when the vaccine is used as directed on the label. FSIS’ current policy to count such strains as a positive result in performance categorization may discourage use of vaccination as a tool to control Salmonella.