The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) has decided that three Foster Farms slaughterhouses linked to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds of people can stay open. Foster Farms has decided recalling its contaminated chicken is not necessary. Now, consumers need to decide if they’re going to buy it.
Consumer groups and food safety advocates are warning consumers not to eat chicken from those Foster Farms plants. On Monday, October 7, FSIS issued a public health alert for Foster Farms chicken saying raw chicken products produced at three Foster Farms facilities in California were the source of a Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak that had sickened 278 people in 18 states. Consumers should not buy or eat Foster Farms chicken marked with the establishment numbers P6137, P6137A, or P7632.
In a letter to the company dated the same day the health alert was issued, FSIS threatened closure of the facilites because of conditions at the plant. “Although FSIS is primarily concerned with the performance of the establishment beginning at the time of the intensified FSIS Salmonella testing and forward, the performance of the establishment just prior to and during the time of the illness onset forward also is of concern. During this time, your establishment has had multiple regulatory noncompliances issued for insanitary conditions. Specifically, from January 1, 2013, (just prior to identification ofillness in early March), through September 27, 2013, FSIS personnel have documented 12 Noncompliance Records (NRs) for findings of fecal material on carcasses. Furthermore, FSIS has identified multiple noncompliances including but not limited to findings of poor sanitary dressing practices, insanitary food contact surfaces, insanitary non food contact surfaces and direct product contamination as evidenced by the documentation of a considerable number ofrecurring NRs issued to your establishment for preoperational, operational, and SPS noncompliances.”
Three days later, FSIS told Foster Farms the plants could stay open. According to information on the company’s website, Foster Farms has implemented several new food safety controls over the last two months and committed “to install added processes during an enhanced inspection period over the next 90 days.”
In the statement, Foster Farms CEO Ron Foster expresses regret that any illnesses were associated with the company’s chicken but says there is no need for a recall because the state of California has not required them to do so. “The CDPH has not requested Foster Farms to recall chickens because, with proper handling and preparation, this product is safe for consumption. Chicken is a raw animal protein that is expected to have some level of naturally occurring bacteria present. Cooking chicken fully to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill the bacteria present. Provided that consumers do not cross-contaminate fully cooked chicken with raw chicken juices, it is safe to consume,” CPPH said Wednesday.
“Telling consumers to cook their chicken thoroughly is simply inadequate and irresponsible. How many illnesses will they wait for before taking action?” said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, toxicologist and Executive Director of the Consumer Reports Food Safety and Sustainability Center in a statement. “It is outrageous that Foster Farms has not issued a recall in the face of so many illnesses associated with their product. We are calling on Foster Farms and the retail outlets that sell Foster Farms to recall the chicken processed at these plants. Foster Farms has a responsibility to public health to take this step.”
According to a statement on the Consumers Union website: “Companies have taken a far more proactive consumer stance and issued recalls for as few as 12 illnesses. In this case, the outbreak is of particular concern due to its reported severity, the fact that that the associated strains are resistant to multiple antibiotic drugs, and the length of time that the CDC has been tracking illnesses that are now linked to Foster Farms chicken.”
Others agree that consumers aren’t the source of the outbreak. Dr. Katrina Hedberg, Oregon’s state epidemiologist, told the Portland Oregonian that the problem wasn’t less safety practiced by consumers but rather more bacteria on the chicken. “We’re not seeing an outbreak because people suddenly decided they like to eat their chicken rare,” Hedberg said in the article. “If you’re suddenly seeing an uptick in cases, it’s probably because there’s more bacteria.”And Tony Corbo at Food and Water Watch wrote, “Spokespersons for Foster Farms have argued in recent press statements that it was the consumers’ fault that they got sick because they did not cook the chicken thoroughly. Nice try, but there is something drastically wrong going on at Foster Farms that is putting consumers at great risk.”
