Retained Water in Raw Meat and Poultry Products; Poultry Chilling Requirements

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing regulations to limit the amount of water retained by raw, single- ingredient, meat and poultry products as a result of post-evisceration processing, such as carcass washing and chilling. Raw livestock and poultry carcasses and parts will not be permitted to retain water resulting from post-evisceration processing unless the establishment preparing those carcasses and parts demonstrates to FSIS, with data collected in accordance with a written protocol, that any water retained in the carcasses and parts is an inevitable consequence of the process used to meet applicable food safety requirements. In addition, the establishment will be required to disclose on the labeling of the meat or poultry products the maximum percentage of retained water in the raw product. The required labeling statement will help consumers of raw meat and poultry products to make informed purchasing decisions. Establishments having data demonstrating that there is no retained water in their products can choose not to label the products with the retained-water statement or to make a no-retained-water claim on the product label. FSIS is also revising the poultry chilling regulations to improve consistency with the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (PR/HACCP) regulations, eliminate "command-and- control" features, and reflect current technological capabilities and good manufacturing practices.