Clinical Pharmacist and Master’s student in Clinical Pharmacy with research interests in pharmacovigilance, behavioral interventions in mental health, and AI applications in clinical decision support. Experience includes digital health research with Bloomsbury Health (London) and pharmacovigilance practice in patient support programs. Published work covers drug awareness among healthcare providers, postpartum depression management, and patient safety reporting. 
Clinical Pharmacist and Master’s student in Clinical Pharmacy with research interests in pharmacovigilance, behavioral interventions in mental health, and AI applications in clinical decision support. Experience includes digital health research with Bloomsbury Health (London) and pharmacovigilance practice in patient support programs. Published work covers drug awareness among healthcare providers, postpartum depression management, and patient safety reporting. What was studied?
The FSIS bulletin describes a metals-monitoring study, selected-metals-in-us-meat-poultry-and-fish, published as “A survey of the levels of selected metals in U.S. meat, poultry and Siluriformes fish samples taken at slaughter and retail, 2017–2022.” The work is framed as part of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) National Residue Program (NRP), where FSIS analyzes samples for 18 metallic elements. Based on the bulletin’s description, the study’s core aim was to quantify how often—and at what general level—metals appear across major FSIS-regulated animal-protein categories over a multi-year window, and to compare metals detections between samples collected at slaughter versus those collected at retail. For a Heavy Metal Tested and Certified (HMTC) program, the practical value is that this design (slaughter plus retail, multi-year, multi-commodity, multi-element) resembles an industry-ready surveillance blueprint: it supports risk ranking by element (e.g., lead/cadmium/arsenic highlighted), helps define “typical” detection patterns, and clarifies where in the supply chain metals monitoring may be most informative.
Who was studied?
The “who” in selected-metals-in-us-meat-poultry-and-fish is not individual people but regulated food commodities sampled from U.S. production and retail channels between 2017 and 2022. The bulletin specifies three commodity groups: U.S. meat, poultry, and Siluriformes fish (catfish and related species regulated by FSIS). It also identifies two sampling/analysis pathways: (1) samples taken at slaughter by FSIS personnel, and (2) samples collected at retail and analyzed by laboratories in the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN). From a certification perspective, this split matters because slaughter samples are closer to primary production controls (feed, water, environment, husbandry), while retail samples integrate processing, packaging, storage, and broader distribution conditions. Even without the paper’s full methods, the bulletin indicates a surveillance population broad enough to support HMTC-relevant baseline expectations across multiple proteins and real-world market endpoints.
Most important findings
FSIS reports that the article “summarizes the detections of metals” from both slaughter and retail sampling streams and concludes there were few trace detections for metals of public health concern—specifically lead, cadmium, and arsenic—across the 2017–2022 sampling window.
| Critical point | Details |
|---|---|
| Programmatic scope aligns with certification needs | The work is explicitly tied to FSIS’s NRP metals monitoring and involves 18 metallic elements, offering a ready-made reference set for an HMTC element panel or tiered testing strategy. |
| Supply-chain coverage strengthens interpretability | Samples were taken at slaughter (FSIS collection) and at retail (FERN laboratory analysis), enabling a chain-stage comparison that can inform where HMTC verification sampling best detects issues. |
| Multi-commodity relevance | The surveyed commodities include meat, poultry, and Siluriformes fish, supporting cross-category certification rules rather than single-product exceptions. |
| Risk signal emphasized for priority toxic metals | FSIS highlights “few trace detections” for lead, cadmium, and arsenic, suggesting these priority metals were not frequently detected at concerning levels in the monitored sample set (as characterized in the bulletin). |
| Temporal breadth helps define baselines | The timeframe 2017–2022 provides multi-year context useful for HMTC baseline setting, trend checks, and deciding whether annual certification sampling is sufficient or should be risk-weighted by commodity/region/supplier. |
Key implications
For HMTC, selected-metals-in-us-meat-poultry-and-fish supports aligning certification with established federal surveillance: adopt an element panel comparable to the NRP’s 18 metals, and require documented chain-of-custody plus stage-specific sampling that distinguishes slaughter from retail contexts. Regulatory impact is strongest in how “few trace detections” for lead, cadmium, and arsenic can justify risk-tiered requirements, while still mandating targeted testing for known high-concern metals. Industry application favors routine monitoring integrated into HACCP-style supplier controls, with escalation triggers when detections occur.
Citation
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. A survey of the levels of selected metals in U.S. meat, poultry and Siluriformes fish samples taken at slaughter and retail, 2017-2022. Journal of Food Protection, February 23, 2024.
Lead is a neurotoxic heavy metal with no safe exposure level. It contaminates food, consumer goods and drinking water, causing cognitive deficits, birth defects and cardiovascular disease. HMTC’s rigorous lead testing applies ALARA principles to protect infants and consumers and to prepare brands for tightening regulations.
Cadmium is a persistent heavy metal that accumulates in kidneys and bones. Dietary sources include cereals, cocoa, shellfish and vegetables, while smokers and industrial workers receive higher exposures. Studies link cadmium to kidney dysfunction, bone fractures and cancer.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring metalloid that ranks first on the ATSDR toxic substances list. Inorganic arsenic contaminates water, rice and consumer products, and exposure is linked to cardiovascular disease, cognitive deficits, low birth weight and cancer. HMTC’s stringent certification applies ALARA principles to protect vulnerable populations.
