Investigate Midwest (https://investigatemidwest.org/tag/salmonella/)
Salmonella and campylobacter caused the most reported bacterial foodborne illnesses in 2016, preliminary data recently released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s FoodNet program has found.
Months after a handful of senators called for better food-safety regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed new standards for cut up poultry. Currently, agencies only monitor whole poultry carcasses for pathogens.
As Americans gear up to eat more than 40 million pounds of turkey this month, a handful of U.S. senators are calling for stronger Department of Agriculture oversight to reduce pathogens in poultry. Their push follows a recent government report that found poultry products – such as chicken and turkey – cause more foodborne-illness deaths than any other commodity.
Earlier in May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that more than 60 people across 23 states were affected by the most recent outbreak of Salmonella. Testing traced the illnesses to individuals who had contact with chicks, ducklings and other baby poultry from Mt. Healthy Hatcheries in Ohio.
Problems with a Washington-based company's Salmonella testing records caused USDA officials to recommend expanding an already massive nationwide recall. But the company -- Nutriom LLC, a producer of dehydrated-egg products -- declined to expand the recall. The decision consequently moved food safety officials to issue a public health alert.
In a step to reduce Salmonella in chickens, Foster Farms representatives said they are feeding probiotics to the company's poultry through the water supply. But there currently are no probiotics approved for use in livestock, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials.
Multiple federal and state agencies have roles in the regulation of our food system. When a problem occurs, producers, consumers and even members of the media can have a hard time figuring out which agency to turn to for answers. While each specific case can have its nuances, here is a general guideline for the oversight process of domestic production and distribution of chicken and meat.
Recall announcements from this month reported that mechanically separated chicken produced by Tyson Foods recently caused seven people at a Tennessee correctional facility to become sick. Two of those people had to be hospitalized. The recall announcements also reported that a series of products had to be recalled because they were mislabeled and contained undeclared allergens.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety and Inspection Service announced recalls for more than 80 tons of food in late November. The recalled products included frozen chicken fettuccine alfredo, dried seaweed and blue cheese. Officials announced the recalls because of dangerous contaminations and undisclosed ingredients.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service announced changes to the process it uses to detect Salmonella in ground beef. Among the changes, beef samples that inspectors examine will increase from 25 grams to 325 grams.