The United States Food Safety Inspection Service has finalized legislation in an attempt to reduce contamination of meat products and increase food safety in the United States. The Hazard Analysis/Critical Control Point Pathogen Reduction Act was finalized in June 1996, and the program was begun in major laughtering plants in the U.S. in January 1998 ( 1,2). This plan incorporates science-based processing procedures and inspection standards to improve the microbiological safety of meat. The act also established new targets for pathogen reduction, which is based on standardized sampling. One of the indicator pathogens being monitored at the slaughtering facilities is Salmonella.