The Foster Farms plant that was closed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) on Wednesday, January 8 for cockroach infestation has been cleared by the agency to reopen Saturday, January 10. The plant is one of three operated by the company that has been linked to an ongoing multi-state Salmonella outbreak.
A statement on the company’s website says all employees at the Livingston, CA plant employees will be called back to work January 11. During the closure, the company cleaned and sanitized the plant and developed “a comprehensive preventative plan with full documentation that received USDA-FSIS approval.”
The Salmonella outbreak, which was announced in October, has sickened at least 416 people in 23 states. About 40 percent of those who became ill after eating the chicken required hospitalization. Cockroaches are just one of the cleanliness problems inspectors have documented at the plant.
