WASHINGTON, D.C. — New standards for acceptable pathogen levels in some poultry products, proposed by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Jan. 21, may help reduce the incidence of campylobacter and salmonella, the two leading causes of foodborne illness from poultry.

The FSIS will accept comments on the proposal until March 27; final standards are expected later this year. The proposed standards require lower contamination rates in ground chicken and turkey. Salmonella contamination rates will be limited to no more than 25 percent for ground chicken and no more than 13.5 percent in ground turkey. Current standards allow a 44.6 percent rate in ground chicken and 49.9 percent in ground turkey.

It is unclear how producers of ground poultry could be affected by the proposed standards. According to the most recent FSIS report, average contamination rates for salmonella in ground chicken fluctuated widely during 2013 and 2014.

“By making the standards for ground poultry tougher to meet, ground poultry products nationwide will have less contamination and therefore result in fewer foodborne illnesses,” stated the USDA.

The standards would also establish acceptable salmonella contamination rates of no more than 15.4 percent in raw chicken parts – breasts, legs and wings. While there is no current standard for salmonella in raw chicken parts, processors have already reduced the incidence of contamination through food safety procedures, and sampling and testing for both pathogens.

“This is something the industry has been proactively working to address, so when the performance standards for chicken parts are put in place by FSIS, we will be meeting or exceeding the standards, as we currently do for whole carcasses,” said Ashley Peterson, National Chicken Council (NCC) vice president of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs.

The new standards also require campylobacter contamination rates of no more than 7.7 percent for ground chicken and 1.9 percent for ground turkey. Campylobacter contamination rates of no more than 7.7 percent will be established for chicken parts. These are new, as no federal standards exist for campylobacter in ground poultry and chicken parts.

Supporters applauded the standards. “I am pleased to hear that the USDA is taking proactive steps to address the risk of foodborne illness by establishing new performance standards for poultry products, including poultry parts,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

Last April, he, along with fellow Democrat Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California, urged the USDA to establish strong pathogen standards.

From 2008-14, poultry processors have reduced the occurrence of salmonella on whole chickens by 63 percent, according to the NCC. Since the USDA began testing chicken for campylobacter in 2011, the industry has reduced its incidence by 30 percent.

Poultry was linked to 19 percent of foodborne illness outbreaks from 1998-2008, tied for fish as the largest single category cause, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both the poultry industry and food safety specialists point out that following safe handling instructions and cooking to proper temperatures can guarantee safe poultry consumption.