On July 1, 2025, FSIS published an article titled “Improving Enrichment of Campylobacter on Poultry for Enhanced Laboratory System Performance” in the peer-reviewed journal Food Protection Trends.
The article identifies and evaluates Campylobacter enrichment broths capable of 24-hour enrichment. In 2021, FSIS tested four enrichment broths in five poultry products for maximal recovery of Campylobacter. These enrichment broths were then evaluated for the minimum time-to-results with the goal of identifying a method that might best optimize reporting time.
The data collected during this study informed updates to the FSIS Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG 41). In March 2022, FSIS began using a new Campylobacter enrichment medium at all three field service laboratories to analyze poultry samples. This update reduced the enrichment incubation time from approximately 48 to 24 hours. It also resulted in reduced reporting times from 3 to 2 days for a screened negative result, and from 5 to 4 days for a confirmed positive result.
FSIS regularly evaluates its sampling programs to ensure they are meaningful to public health protection, provide the best available science and data to inform agency decisions, effectively utilize agency resources, and enhance workflow efficiency. Read the article to learn more about FSIS’ evaluation of different Campylobacter enrichment media. Open access will be available in December 2025. In the meantime, you may email Neal Golden at neal.golden@usda.gov for a copy of the manuscript.
Source: USDA
