Current:Home > BackUSDA moves to limit salmonella in raw poultry products-LoTradeCoin
USDA moves to limit salmonella in raw poultry products
View Date:2024-12-23 19:57:34
The Agriculture Department on Monday announced plans to limit salmonella in poultry products in the U.S., a proposal that officials say will keep contaminated meat off store shelves and lead to fewer illnesses.
Under the proposed new rule, poultry companies would have to keep salmonella levels under a certain threshold and test for the presence of six particularly sickening forms of the bacteria, three found in turkey and three in chicken. If the bacteria exceeds the proposed standard and any of those strains are found, the poultry couldn’t be sold and would be subject to recall.
The poultry industry has made progress in reducing the amount of salmonella in its products over the past three decades, said Dr. Emilio Esteban, USDA undersecretary for food safety.
“However, there’s not been a similar decline in people in the number of illnesses,” he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates salmonella causes 1.35 million infections annually, most of them through food, and about 420 deaths. The Agriculture Department estimates 125,000 infections from chicken and 43,000 from turkey each year.
Under the proposal, poultry companies would also have to establish monitoring programs that would identify contamination throughout the slaughter system. The proposal includes guidelines for lowering the chance of salmonella spreading through flocks before harvest, including vaccinating birds against the bacteria.
The proposed rule, three years in the making, would be finalized after a public comment period.
In April, the department told poultry producers to reduce salmonella in certain frozen poultry products as a first step. It was the first time the agency labeled salmonella as a contaminating “adulterant” in food, alongside certain types of E. coli.
The National Chicken Council, which lobbies for the U.S. broiler chicken industry, opposes the additional requirements.
Ashley Peterson, a senior vice president for the group, questioned if the proposal was “demonstrated to positively impact public health” and said it could significantly raise prices. She said the council is committed to further reducing salmonella and looked forward to reviewing the full USDA proposal.
Martin Bucknavage, a Penn State food scientist, said tracking specific levels and types of the bacteria is “not an easy thing,” especially at the fast pace at which poultry hits store shelves.
He expects the industry will need time to adjust and it would take a while to see if the new requirements actually slow food poisoning cases.
“Certainly, lowering the level of salmonella lowers your risk of getting ill,” Bucknavage said.
The USDA took similar action with E. coli bacteria in 1994 after deadly food poisoning outbreaks tied to ground beef, and the number of related foodborne illnesses have fallen by more than 50%.
The agency didn’t set limits on salmonella levels until now because there weren’t good enough tools and technology to track the bacteria in this way, but now “it’s time to change our approach,” Esteban said.
“One of my commitments to this mission, to USDA, has been that I would not do things without having science to back us up,” he said. “We have the tools. We have the technology. We have the knowledge.”
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (133)
Related
- Insurance magnate pleads guilty as government describes $2B scheme
- Oklahoma, Texas officially join SEC: The goals are the same but the league name has changed
- Kelly Ripa Gives Mark Consuelos' Dramatic Hair Transformation a Handsy Seal of Approval
- Attacker with crossbow killed outside Israel embassy in Serbia
- Gold is suddenly not so glittery after Trump’s White House victory
- After 32 years as a progressive voice for LGBTQ Jews, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum heads into retirement
- Pennsylvania man killed when fireworks explode in his garage
- US Olympic track and field trials: Winners and losers from final 4 days
- John Krasinski Revealed as People's Sexiest Man Alive 2024
- 2024 French election begins, with far-right parties expected to make major gains in parliament
Ranking
- Mississippi expects only a small growth in state budget
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dominates 400 hurdles, sets world record again
- Man critically injured after shark attack in northeast Florida
- Democrat Elissa Slotkin makes massive ad buy in Michigan Senate race in flex of fundraising
- 'The Penguin' spoilers! Colin Farrell spills on that 'dark' finale episode
- Lawsuit says Pennsylvania county deliberately hid decisions to invalidate some mail-in ballots
- Arkansas groups not asking US Supreme Court to review ruling limiting scope of Voting Rights Act
- Stingray that got pregnant despite no male companion has died, aquarium says
Recommendation
-
Military veteran gets time served for making ricin out of ‘curiosity’
-
Blake Lively Shares Peek Into Her Italian Vacation—And the Friends She Made Along the Way
-
Texas sets execution date for East Texas man accused in shaken baby case
-
Two Colorado residents die in crash of vintage biplane in northwestern Kansas
-
Wisconsin authorities believe kayaker staged his disappearance and fled to Europe
-
Beyoncé congratulates daughter Blue Ivy for winning BET YoungStars Award
-
Authorities say 13-year-old armed with replica handgun fatally shot by police after chase in upstate New York
-
Impromptu LGBTQ+ protest in Istanbul after governor bans Pride march