On April 24 2025, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the withdrawal of their proposed framework to make it illegal to sell poultry contaminated with salmonella.

In August 2024, FSIS published a proposed rule and proposed determination in the Federal Register entitled “Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products”. The proposed framework was targeted at reducing Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products, by determining that raw chicken carcasses, chicken parts, comminuted chicken, and comminuted turkey products contaminated with certain Salmonella levels and serotypes are adulterated as defined in the Poultry Products Inspection Act.

This proposed framework was open to comments until January 2025 and received over 7,000 responses. The USDA has now withdrawn the proposed framework, stating the following in their withdrawal statement: 

While FSIS continues to support the goal of reducing Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products, the Agency believes that the comments have raised several important issues that warrant further consideration. Therefore, FSIS is withdrawing the “ Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products” proposed rule and proposed determination to allow the Agency to further assess its approach for addressing Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products."

While comments submitted by poultry producers were predominantly against the framework, public interest groups fighting to reduce human illness were in favour, a sentiment they have echoed in response to yesterday's withdrawal.