WASHINGTON – During the National Meat Association summer conference, Dr. Kenneth Petersen, Food Safety and Inspection Service (F.S.I.S.) assistant administrator, said he will be issuing a notice within the next few months to mandate certain meat and poultry products be held pending test results for specific pathogens, according to the National Chicken Council’s (N.C.C.) Aug. 6 Washington Report.

The mandatory test-and-hold procedure will apply to E. coli 0157:H7 in ground beef and Salmonella and Listeria in ready-to-eat products.

F.S.I.S. will not solicit comments on the new rules and that the rules would take effect to 30 to 90 days after the Federal Register notice, Mr. Petersen said. F.S.I.S., under the new policy, will withhold its stamp of inspection for products where a pathogen has been declared an adulterant until the test samples are returned with a negative result.