Minimum Maturation Temperature for Beef and Ovine Meat From Regions Affected With Foot-and-Mouth Disease
Key claim: USDA is proposing to lower the required aging temperature for boneless beef and lamb imported from foot-and-mouth disease regions from 4°C to 2°C to match international animal-health standards, while keeping all other import safeguards in place.
Abstract
(Proposed Rule · Agriculture Department, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) We are proposing to amend the regulations regarding the minimum maturation temperature for fresh (chilled or frozen) boneless beef and ovine meat from certain listed regions or countries affected with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) from 4 [deg]C to 2 [deg]C. All other existing mitigations for the importation of beef from regions or countries affected with FMD would remain unchanged. This action is needed to align the regulations with the World Organization for Animal Health’s standards for FMD minimum maturation temperatures, while continuing to protect the United States against the introduction of FMD.
Why this matters
Maturation temperature is one of several interlocking safeguards APHIS uses to allow boneless beef and lamb imports from regions where foot-and-mouth disease is present, since the FMD virus is inactivated by the combination of time, cold, and post-slaughter acidification. Aligning the U.S. threshold with the WOAH international standard (2°C) could modestly expand the pool of eligible foreign suppliers without changing other biosecurity controls, with potential marginal effects on beef and lamb import volumes and prices. The change is a narrow technical harmonization rather than a shift in overall FMD risk policy.