Retained Water in Raw Meat and Poultry Products: Suspension of Regulation

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is suspending until January 9, 2003, regulations that limit water retained by raw meat and poultry products from post-evisceration processing to the amount that is unavoidable in meeting applicable food safety requirements and that require labeling for the amount of water retained. The original effective date of these final regulations was January 9, 2002. FSIS is taking this action in response to a petition from four trade associations representing the meat and poultry industries. The petitioners requested the effective date be extended until August, 2004. However, FSIS has decided that a one-year suspension of the regulation will allow the meat and poultry industry sufficient time to complete necessary experimentation, including microbial testing and chilling system trials under FSIS-accepted data collection protocols; to fine-tune and stabilize newly adjusted processes; and to conduct regular measurements of retained water at packaging. Suspension of the regulation also will provide members of the meat and poultry industry sufficient time to order new supplies of labels with statements reflecting the amount of retained water in their raw products. The final rule promulgating the retained water regulations also made numerous technical amendments in the sections of the poultry products inspection regulations that concern poultry chilling practices. The effective date of these amendments will remain January 9, 2002.