Consumer Reports has asked the USDA to strengthen its Salmonella framework to reduce consumer illnesses from poultry. CR has filed a comment letter with that agency, which states that poultry contaminated with Salmonella bacteria above a certain level should be kept off the market and recalled.
Chicken accounts for amore Salmonella illnesses than any other food category. And the rate of those illnesses has been increasing over the last ten years.
Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports said in a statement, “Salmonella infections from poultry have increased steadily over the past decade and sicken hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. The USDA’s current performance standards to reduce Salmonella infections from poultry have failed to drive down illnesses. We strongly support the USDA’s efforts to enact an enforceable standard to keep poultry contaminated with Salmonella off the market and urge the agency to adopt a stricter rule that will more effectively protect consumers.”
The government’s proposed framework would declare any chicken or turkey product adulterated if they contain any type of Salmonella at or above 10 colony forming units (CFU) per millimeter or gram, and only for particular Salmonella strains that are a health concern.
For any chicken product to be considered a public health concern under the proposed standard, it would have to be at or above 10 CFU for any Salmonella and have detectable levels of the three serotypes: Enteritidis, Typhimurium, and I, 4 [5], 12:i-.
For ground turkey to be considered of public health concern, it would have to be above 10 CFU for any Salmonella and have detectable levels of these three serotypes: Typhimurium, Hadar, and Muenchen.
Consumer Reports believes that these standards are too lax. They want the USDA to lower the number of permissible colony forming units for any type of Salmonella to 1 cfu/mL(g), as was done for not ready to eat frozen breaded stuffed chicken products in 2022.
By submitting a comment, you are contacting Pritzker Hageman, P.A. An attorney may contact you to ask if you would like a free consultation regarding your foodborne illness.