Constituent Update - September 12, 2025

Constituent Update - September 12, 2025

FSIS Releases New Guideline for Applying for Inspection

FSIS is announcing the availability of a new guideline for applying for USDA FSIS inspection.

This guideline is intended to assist businesses interested in applying for FSIS inspection. It provides clear, accessible information on:

• Determining whether FSIS inspection is required;
• The application process for obtaining inspection;
• FSIS verification activities;
• Resources available to support new applicants; and
• FSIS contact information.

For more information, please view the Federal Register notice. FSIS is seeking comments on the document, which will be open for public comment until November 14, 2025, 60 days after publishing in the Federal Register.

Stakeholder Engagement

This week, FSIS participated in two industry events. On September 10, FSIS Administrator Dr. Justin Ransom spoke at the Meat Industry Food Safety Conference in Kansas City, Mo. In addition to providing updates on key agency priorities, Dr. Ransom shared his vision of building a strong workforce and smarter systems to enhance how the agency delivers on its food safety mission.

Later that day, Deputy Administrator Dr. Denise Eblen represented FSIS at the American Spice Trade Association 2025 Regulatory Workshop in Washington, D.C. Dr. Eblen provided an update on food safety regulations for FSIS-regulated products, including how changes may impact spices use in processed products, labeling, and compliance expectations.

Our ongoing engagement with stakeholders is critical to ensuring that regulatory priorities are clearly understood, concerns are heard, and trust continues to be strengthened through transparency and collaboration.

FSIS Updates the Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book

In response to a petition from the Meat Institute (Petition 22-02), dated May 9, 2022, FSIS has deleted the Moisture Protein Ratio (MPR) reference from the "Jerky" entry in the FSIS Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book. After careful consideration of the petition, FSIS determined that the Agency agrees with the petitioner that while jerky is a shelf-stable product, the MPR reference in the "Jerky" entry is outdated and not necessary to ensure food safety.

The Policy Book is intended to provide policy guidance and help with consistency in labeling decisions. Outdated provisions, such as the reference to MPR in the jerky entry, are inconsistent with this purpose. FSIS stopped adding new policy guidance to the book in 2013 but continues to amend or remove items in the book, as necessary, to remain consistent with agency policies and regulations. The full petition and FSIS' response can be found on the Petition 22-02 page of the FSIS website.

FSIS to Onboard Singapore in PHIS Export Component

Starting January 12, 2026, all FSIS meat and poultry product export certificates for products exported to Singapore will be generated, issued and officially maintained in FSIS' Public Health Information System (PHIS). This change excludes certificates for casings and egg products. FSIS plans to make the PHIS Industry Test Environment (ITE) for Singapore available for testing on September 29, 2025.

All export certificates (FSIS Form 9060-5 series) generated through PHIS will be digitally signed by FSIS and printed on plain paper by industry personnel with PHIS access. These plain paper forms must include the PHIS-generated watermark. Any attestations for Singapore, as documented in the FSIS Export Library, will be captured in the FSIS Form 9060-5 remarks section or the FSIS Form 9060-5B (continuation sheet). The digitally signed FSIS Form 9060-5 series printed on plain watermarked paper and available for validation in PHIS will replace all letterhead certificates for meat and poultry exported to Singapore. Beginning January 12, 2026, no wet-signed 9060-5 series export certificates, including letterhead certificates, will be issued for meat and poultry products for export to Singapore.

Industry is strongly encouraged to use the ITE to test application submittals for export to Singapore when it becomes available on September 29, 2025. To facilitate preparation and a successful industry testing period, FSIS will provide industry users with testing instructions for export requirements unique to Singapore. Once available, these instructions will be posted to the PHIS components page, under the heading Export, Information for Industry, Constituent Updates.

An electronic identification account with identity verification steps is required for all persons who will access PHIS, for both the test environment and the live production environment. User accounts are disabled for those who have not used PHIS in 60 days. For those new to the PHIS export component, register with Login.gov to initiate, update, or complete the electronic identification account and the PHIS enrollment process. Instructions can be found in the PHIS Industry User Guide, section 2 (Overview of PHIS). For further guidance on PHIS export and enrollment, please refer to the following user guides:

• PHIS Industry User Guide
• Editing 9060 Records Quick Reference Guide
• PHIS Quick Reference Guide for Corporate and Establishment Management

Contact [email protected] with questions regarding these changes. Technical questions can be directed to [email protected].

Available for Public Comment

FSIS seeks public comments on proposed rules and notices, which are viewable on the FSIS Federal Register & Rulemaking webpage. FSIS is currently seeking comments on the following:

• Until Oct. 20: Visual Post-Mortem Inspection in Swine Slaughter Establishments

Policy Update

FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available on the FSIS Policy webpage. The following policy update was recently issued:

• FSIS-GD-2025-0005: Applying for USDA FSIS Inspection
• FSIS Directive 2410.4: Property Management for Accountable Property
• FSIS Directive 2410.5: Property Management for Non-Accountable Personal Property
• FSIS Directive 7230.1: Ongoing Verification of Product Formulation and Labeling Targeting the Nine Most Common ("Big 9") Food Allergens - Revision 4

Export Requirements Update

The Library of Export Requirements has been updated for products for the following:

• European Union
• Japan
• Canada
• China
• North Macedonia

Complete information can be found at the FSIS Import & Export Library.