USDA 

United States Department of Agriculture 

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United States Department of Agriculture 

Update on Preliminary Analysis 

of Modernization of Poultry 

Slaughter 

Christopher Alvares, Director 

Office of Data Integration and Food Protection 

Data Analysis Staff 

Presentation to Stakeholders 

October, 2017 
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United States Department of Agriculture 

Outline 

• Summary of Findings 

• Overview 

• Analysis Highlights 

1. Mandatory Requirements Implementation 

2. Inspection Task Findings at NPIS Establishments 

3. Comparison of pre-Conversion to post-Conversion 

4. Comparison of NPIS to non-NPIS 

• Preliminary conclusions 

• Moving Forward 

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 3 
 

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USDA 

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United States Department of Agriculture 

Summary of Findings 

1. Salmonella and Campylobacter levels are lower after 

implementation of the mandatory requirements 

2. Inspectors are performing increased off-line verification 

tasks as intended under NPIS 

3. Establishments that convert to NPIS are able to maintain 

process control 

4. NPIS-converted establishments have similar Salmonella 

levels to other like establishments 

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 4 
 

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United States Department of Agriculture 

Overview 

• Poultry Slaughter Modernization introduced a new 

inspection system 

– Mandatory requirements for all establishments 

• Have pathogen levels changed since implementation? 

For NPIS: 

– IPP spend more time doing certain off-line inspection tasks 

• Are IPP performing tasks at expected rates? 

– Establishments expected to take greater responsibility controlling 

pathogens 

• Are establishments that convert able to maintain process control? 

• Are establishments in NPIS performing as well as similar establishments 

in other inspection systems? 

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 5 
 

 

 

Salmonella Rates Before and After 

Modernization 

• All poultry slaughter establishments were required to implement certain 

provisions of the rule 

• A comparison of Salmonella and Campylobacter rates shows overall 

decreases since implementation of the rule. 

– 176 chicken and 41 turkey slaughter establishments analyzed 

– Timeframe is pre-nBPW 

Salmonella 

Positives 

Before 

Salmonella 

Negatives 

Before 

Salmonella 

Positive 

Rate Before 

Salmonella 

Positives 

After 

Salmonella 

Negatives 

After 

Salmonella 

Positive 

Rate After P Valu

Chicken 255 8,212 3.01% 122 7,711 1.56% 5.55E

Turkey 42 2,011 2.05% 18 1,645 1.08% 2.53E

All 

Poultry 297 10,223 2.82% 140 9,356 1.47% 4.52E

Salmonella Positive Rates in Chicken, Turkey and all Poultry Slaughter Establishments 

Before the mandatory testing rule: July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 and 

After the mandatory testing rule: July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. 

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 6 
Inspection Task Findings 

• PHIS tasks were evaluated in the 

30-120 days prior to conversion 

and the 30-120 days after. 

– 18 non-HIMP establishments 

used in this analysis 

– The NPIS Zero Tolerance Food 

Safety Verification task 

(15J)was performed 4 times 

more often than the Poultry 

Zero Tolerance Verification 

task (03J04) 

– The non-food safety Finished 

Product Standards task 

(04A06 for pre-NPIS and 

15A06 post-NPIS) frequency 

was reduced to monthly 

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

01B02 01C01 01C02 01D03 03A04 03J02 03J04 04A06 04C05 15A06 15J 4031,058 1,394 230 447 789 5,398 4,154 1,833

00

437

1,256

1,738

359

380

2,817

00

1,935

108

21,508

Total Tasks Pre NPIS Total Tasks Post NPIS

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 7 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pre-Conversion vs post-Conversion 

• FSIS Pathogen testing data 

evaluated in 55 chicken and 

turkey establishments that 

converted to NPIS 

– Accounted for other factors 

including 

• Seasonality and different 

conversion dates 

• Former-HIMP 

• nBPW introduction 

• Implementation of moving 

window based sampling 

• No significant change was 

seen in pathogen levels for 

converting establishments 

Salmonella Percent Positive (unweighted) Pre- and Post-NPIS Implementation Periods, 

July 1, 2013, through March 31, 2017, Young Chickens and Young Turkeys Combined. 

Quarter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

pre-NPIS Ests 28 20 22 23 26 21 14 52 52 32 17 13 9 5 2

post-NPIS Ests 17 34 39 43 46 51 54

Establishments that converted mid-quarter would be counted in both pre- and post-NPIS 

counts for that quarter 

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 8 
 

 

 

NPIS vs non-NPIS 

• Focused on more recent data, 12 months post nBPW 

• 39 Large (23 former HIMP) NPIS converted establishments 

compared to 126 Large non-NPIS establishments 

Salmonella Positive Percentage (Number) Campylobacter Positive Percentage

(Number)

chicken 

carcasses

chicken parts turkey 

carcasses

chicken 

carcasses

chicken parts turkey 

carcasses

NPIS 4.5% (67) 14.5% (147) 0.4% (3) 1.5% (22) 3.2% (32) 0.3% (2)

 HIMP 2.9% (31)* 14.8% (102) 0.4% (1) 0.8% (8)* 3.2% (22) 0.0% (0)

 Non-HIMP 8.9% (36) 13.9% (45) 0.4% (2) 3.5% (14) 3.1% (10) 0.4% (2)

Non-NPIS 4.1% (214) 13.3% (494) 0.2% (1) 1.6% (79) 2.6% (96) 0.0% (0)

* Statistically significant compared to Non-NPIS (chi-squared, p<0.05) 

• Comparable results are seen between the NPIS 

establishments and similar non-NPIS establishments 

– Note: the non-HIMP data is skewed by one outlier establishment. With that 

establishment excluded, chicken carcass Salmonella rates in former non-HIMP 

sub-group is 4.0% (14 positive) and in all NPIS is 3.1% (45 positive) 

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 9 
 

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USDA 

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United States Department of Agriculture 

Preliminary Conclusions 

• Salmonella and Campylobacter levels are lower after 

implementation of the mandatory requirements 

• Increased off-line food safety verification tasks are occurring 

as instructed 

– Off-line bird checks are 4X more frequent 

• Plants that convert to NPIS are able to maintain process 

control 

• The group of NPIS converted establishments are comparable 

to those who have not converted in terms of both Salmonella

and Campylobacter rates 

– Converted HIMP plants have lower carcass Salmonella rates in this 

analysis 

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 10 
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USDA 

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United States Department of Agriculture 

Next steps 

• Continue to monitor and evaluate 

– Monitor converted establishments to ensure a 

smooth transition 

– Track pathogen rates as more establishments 

convert and as more data is collected 

– Evaluate the public health impact and compare to 

the estimates in the risk assessment 

– Provide periodic updates 

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 11 
 

Supplemental Info 

InspTaskCode InspectionTaskName Description

01B02 Pre-Op SSOP Review and Observation Review the establishment's SSOP and become familiar with the procedures

01C01 Operational SSOP Record Review Verify operational SSOP records

01C02 Operational SSOP Review and Observation Verification of the establishment's operational SSOP

01D03 Poultry Sanitary Dressing Verification of sanitary dressing in poultry slaughter

03A04 Review of Establishment Data Weekly review of establishment data per Directive 5000.2

03J02 Slaughter HACCP Verification of all 5 HACCP regulatory requirements through the review/observation 

and recordkeeping components

03J04 Poultry Zero Tolerance Verification Verifcation of zero tolerance for feces on poultry carcasses entering chilling system

04A06 Poultry Finished Product Standards Verify poultry products are produced in a safe, wholesome manner and not misbranded 

04C05 Poultry Good Commercial Practices Poultry Good Commercial Practices

15A06 NPIS Poultry Ready-to-Cook Ready to Cook Task for NPIS establishments

15J NPIS Zero Tolerance Food Safety 

Verification

Verification of zero tolerance for feces in NPIS system establishments

Inspection Task Code Key 

Notes: When establishments convert to NPIS they perform 15J and 15A06 

tasks in lieu of 03J04 and 04A06, respectively 

Presentation to Stakeholders - Oct, 2017 12