Patterns and Trends in Salmonella-Positive, High-Level Salmonella, Serotypes, and Establishment Categorization in FSIS FY2023-25 Raw Chicken Parts Laboratory Sampling Data.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) collects Salmonella data from poultry products and assigns establishment categories based on Salmonella prevalence over 52-week moving windows, with Category 1 representing lower, Category 2 intermediate, and Category 3 higher prevalence. In this study, we analyzed FSIS Raw Poultry Laboratory Sampling Data for chicken parts from January 1, 2023, to September 30, 2025, to provide further insight into Salmonella prevalence, high-level contamination (≥10 CFU/mL rinsate), and establishment categorization across establishment sizes, product types, months, years, and serotypes. Salmonella prevalence varied significantly by establishment size, product type, and their interaction. Small and very small establishments had significantly higher odds of Salmonella positive than large establishments for leg and wing products (adjusted odds ratios [aORs] = 1.7-2.1), while differences by establishment size were smaller for breast products. In contrast, high-level Salmonella occurrence differed significantly by product type, sampling month, and sampling year. Positive samples without serotype data had lower odds of high-level Salmonella than positive samples with a higher-risk serotype (aORs = 0.37-0.40). At the establishment level, sample numbers per moving window and category distributions varied by establishment size. Large establishments generally had more samples per moving window than small and very small establishments, but a lower proportion of moving windows classified as Category 3. We observed a significant increasing monotonic trend in Category 1 (Kendall's τ = 0.77, p value < 0.001) and decreasing trends in Categories 2 and 3. These insights could help inform government regulatory and industry management processes for better Salmonella control in poultry products.