In accordance with this mandate, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) considers it important to assess the food safety risk associated with consuming farm-raised catfish in the United States. However, limited information on the distribution of microbial contamination and chemical residues on catfish limit our ability to make strong statements about the baseline risk. Furthermore, the lack of experience with implementing continuous inspection programs in the context of aquaculture makes estimating the impact of such a program on risk difficult. As such, the risk assessment FSIS presents here simply provides insight into the risk reductions that might accompany the implementation of the type of continuous inspection program now required for catfish under the FMIA. The illustrative risk assessment presented here focuses on exposure to Salmonella because a broad hazard identification study identified Salmonella as a potential concern in catfish.