Posted December 11, 2013
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently released an action plan aimed at reducing Salmonella contamination, according to an article by the Oregonian available here.
The action plan comes after a Salmonella outbreak traced to Foster Farms chicken was found to contain antibiotic resistant bacteria. USDA inspected the plant in Kelso, WA, increased testing, and the company adopted new procedures. This “managed to curtail Salmonella contamination on chicken processed in Kelso, eventually ending the outbreak.”
USDA says this success shows that Salmonella infections can be reduced. The FSIS action plan, available here, sets out a priority list for the agency. The list includes:
1) a proposed poultry slaughter rule that modernizes inspection;
2) sample related activities;
3) develop new plant strategies, including training for inspection program personnel;
4) develop a directive for sanitary dressing in hogs;
5) consider modifying how we post salmonella categories;
6) other performance standard related activities, including risk assessments and development of new standards;
7) develop new enforcement strategies;
8) explore the contribution of lymph nodes to salmonella contamination;
9) assess pre-harvest contamination; and
10) focus on the Agency’s education and outreach tools and resources on Salmonella.
Dr. Robert Tauxe, a top food safety infectious disease specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “I would call this a major step forward…It’s very impressive.”
Some, however, are critical of the plan, saying it does not go far enough in addressing antibiotic resistance, according to an article by the LA Times available here. The Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest wants USDA to treat antibiotic resistant salmonella like other pathogens such as E. coli. Salmonella has not been held to those standards, but is treated as “a naturally occurring bacteria that can be mitigated through cooking.”
Elisabeth Hagen, Under Secretary for Food Safety, said the agency could take on antibiotic resistance only by reducing salmonella across the board. She said, “We have limitations on what we can do…Antibiotic resistance doesn’t start where we have jurisdiction. It happens in farms.” Hagen also said reducing illness is a top priority and that this was the most comprehensive effort the agency has taken to reduce salmonella.
For more information on food safety, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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