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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has formally withdrawn a rule that would have set enforceable limits on salmonella contamination in raw chicken and turkey, ending a three-year initiative the agency once said could cut foodborne illness by a quarter. The reversal, published April 24 in the Federal Register, comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 1.35 million salmonella infections and about 420 deaths in the United States each year. AP NewsCDC

Salmonella infections have held steady for two decades despite periodic performance standards and consumer-education campaigns. CDC data show the pathogen is the leading bacterial cause of domestically acquired foodborne illness, sending roughly 26,500 Americans to the hospital annually. CDCCDC

Beyond the human toll, USDA’s Economic Research Service pegs the annual economic burden of salmonella at about $17.6 billion in medical costs and lost productivity, up 13 percent from 2013 after adjusting for inflation. Economic Research Service

The rule the agency scrapped would have treated six high-risk salmonella strains as adulterants, required testing before birds entered the slaughter line and blocked products exceeding set bacteria thresholds from commerce. Agency analyses projected a 25 percent drop in infections tied to poultry — nearly 168,000 cases a year. The Washington Post

Work on the policy began in late 2021 and resulted in an August 2024 proposed framework that drew on two National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods meetings, industry listening sessions and a 2022 request for information. Federal RegisterFood Safety

By the time the docket closed, the Food Safety and Inspection Service had logged more than 7,000 public comments. FSIS officials said many originated from a coordinated letter-writing campaign led by trade groups. The Washington Post

In its withdrawal notice, USDA said commenters raised “substantial concerns” about cost, scientific basis and small-business impacts. The agency concluded the plan would impose “overwhelming financial and operational burdens” without a clear path to implementation. AP News

The National Chicken Council, which represents the largest U.S. poultry companies, welcomed the move, calling the discarded regulation “legally unsound” and warning it would have raised grocery prices. The council said it remained committed to science-based food-safety measures. The Washington Post

Consumer advocates reacted sharply. “The administration is sending the message that consumers will be on their own,” said Brian Ronholm, food-policy director at Consumer Reports. The Center for Science in the Public Interest said abandoning the rule shows some processors “won’t invest in improving their practices.” The New LedeThe Washington Post

Public-health officials also flagged a related threat: rising antimicrobial resistance. CDC reports note that 14 percent of recent salmonella isolates were resistant to at least one drug, narrowing treatment options for severe infections. CDC

Studies by USDA and academic partners have found cross-contamination in home kitchens remains common, and thermometer use is inconsistent, factors that limit the effectiveness of consumer education alone. ProPublica

Hospitalization and mortality rates have changed little in 20 years even as E. coli O157:H7 illnesses plummeted after the agency declared that pathogen an adulterant in ground beef in 1994. Food-safety experts point to that precedent in arguing for similar authority over salmonella. ProPublica

Industry influence is part of the debate. Federal Election Commission filings show Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., the nation’s second-largest poultry processor, donated $5 million to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee — the single largest corporate gift reported. The Washington Post

Pilgrim’s Pride, a subsidiary of Brazil-based JBS S.A., can process about 43.3 million birds in a standard five-day workweek and holds an estimated 16 percent share of the U.S. ready-to-cook chicken market, according to its 2022 annual report. ir.pilgrims.com

Food-policy analysts note the company would have been regulated directly under the withdrawn rule. They say the sequence of events — substantial inaugural donation followed by policy reversal beneficial to the donor’s business segment — illustrates how financial contributions can intersect with regulatory outcomes, even absent explicit quid pro quo. The Washington PostAP News

The record also shows sustained political engagement by trade associations. The National Chicken Council organized a template comment letter opposing the rule, citing potential compliance costs and questioning CDC outbreak attribution methods. That letter and similar submissions accounted for much of the 7,000-plus comment total USDA cited in its decision. The Washington Post

Food-safety researchers warn that reduced oversight comes as antibiotic-resistant salmonella strains spread. CDC’s 2022 antimicrobial-resistance update notes ciprofloxacin resistance rose steadily from 2016 to 2019, complicating therapy for invasive infections. CDC

The broader regulatory climate is shifting. USDA last year allowed two food-safety advisory committees to lapse, and FDA recently paused routine dairy testing because of budget cuts. Public-health advocates say the combined effect is diminished early-warning capacity. Reuters

For consumers, basic precautions remain. USDA and CDC recommend cooking poultry to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, washing hands after handling raw meat, preventing juices from contacting ready-to-eat foods and cleaning surfaces with hot, soapy water. ProPublica

Outlook
Food-safety attorneys expect litigation over FSIS’s authority to police salmonella as an adulterant will continue, and some lawmakers are pressing for statutory clarity. For now, public-health specialists say the withdrawal reduces pressure on processors to adopt preventive controls, leaving Americans reliant on at-home safeguards and voluntary industry measures.

With salmonella infections stubbornly high, antibiotic resistance growing and an ambitious control plan shelved, the threat to public health persists, analysts say. Whether Congress, USDA or industry will advance an alternative strategy remains unclear, but epidemiologists caution that without enforceable standards, progress toward safer poultry is likely to stall.