Source: MEATINGPLACE, 9/20/17

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a notice requiring inspection personnel to notify establishments in hurricane-affected areas to reassess their hazard plans to ensure products are unadulterated.

Data suggest the potential for an increase in Salmonella incidence in regulated food products following flood events, and a review of noncompliance records has shown a spike in noncompliance with sanitation and hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) plans in the first 90 days after heavy rain periods, the agency said.

Under FSIS regulations, every establishment is to reassess the adequacy of its HACCP plan whenever any changes occur that could affect the hazard analysis or alter the plan. A hurricane is considered such a change.

Inspection personnel will verify whether sanitation procedures and any cleaning and related monitoring are adequate to address any additional sanitation problems related to the hurricanes.

Inspection personnel also will review the establishment’s testing data to identify any adverse trends that may indicate problems with microbial contamination. In establishments producing ready-to-eat products that were affected by service failures including flooding, prolonged electric service failure and boil water orders, FSIS may schedule risk-based Listeria monocytogenes sampling to verify restoration of sanitary conditions upon re-starting operations.