Hey, it happens. During slaughter, poop germs can make their way onto the chicken meat destined for the grocery store, that’s why it’s the consumer’s responsibility to handle and cook it with care. That was the gist of Foster Farms’ response to the Oregon Health Authority’s mid-February announcement linking the company to a Salmonella outbreak.
“There is no recall in effect for any brand of chicken related to the Oregon Health Authority announcement as it is widely known that all raw chicken must be responsibly handled and properly prepared to ensure safety and quality. All raw chicken, like all raw meats, can contain bacteria that can be harmful to human health. For this reason, all raw chicken must be fully cooked to ensure safety and quality. Bacteria on food, including salmonella, are fully eliminated and present no risk with proper storage, handling and preparation,” the notice on the company’s website, which has since been removed, stated.
No one can argue with the truth of the message. About half of all the chicken sold at the grocery stores is contaminated with feces, according to a study conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). A Consumer Reports study found that about two thirds of all broilers were tainted with Salmonella or Campylobacter (poop germs.) And in its update on the outbreak, which has now sickened 128 people in 13 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, “It is not unusual for raw poultry from any producer to have Salmonella. This underscores the importance for consumers to follow food safety tips to help protect themselves and others from foodborne illness.
But the CDC’s update also said health officials from two states have “identified Foster Farms brand chicken as the most likely source of the infections in their states” and that “testing conducted by the Washington State Public Health Laboratories identified the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg in four intact samples of chicken collected from three ill persons’ homes in Washington.”
The update went on to explain findings by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) of testing on chicken for Salmonella. Data on other pathogens was not mentioned.
“From 2002 to 2011, Salmonella was isolated from 1503 (13%) of 11,417 retail chicken samples tested by NARMS. Salmonella Heidelberg was identified in 233 retail chicken samples tested by 11 state public health laboratories. Among these 233 isolates, 48 (21%) matched the outbreak strain, and 47 (98%) of those were isolated from Foster Farms retail chicken samples.”
Translation? Of all the chicken NARMS tested over a nine-year period, almost half of the chicken that tested positive for the Salmonella Heidelberg strain involved in this outbreak came from Foster Farms. And about 7 percent of all chicken that tested positive for any kind of Salmonella during that nine years came from Foster Farms.
“Companies that make food have a responsibility to produce it in a clean, safe environment so people don’t get sick,” said Fred Pritzker, a food safety attorney. The outbreak has been ongoing for nine months and more than 30 percent of the case patients had illnesses so severe they required hospitalization, he said.
There’s still no recall. And although the company has removed the February 14 notice excerpted above, its website does have a section explaining its commitment to food safety which states that Foster Farms goes “above and beyond USDA regulations to monitor the incidence of salmonella and campylobacter; microbial bacteria that naturally exist in raw poultry products.” And it reminds consumers “that raw poultry should not be allowed to cross-contaminate other foods or food preparation surfaces. All raw poultry products should be prepared according to package guidelines and cooked to at least an internal temperature of 165 degrees F to guarantee that they have been fully cooked. Following these guidelines will ensure the safety and quality of all raw poultry products.”
