The food safety agencies Stop Foodborne Illness and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) are calling for poultry safety modernization to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter infections in poultry. Those agencies believe that the USDA's regulatory framework lags behind advances in science and technology and doesn't reflect the best. practices to prevent illness from poultry. Stop Foodborne Illness CEO Mitzi Baum said in a statement, "To their credit, FSIS, academic experts, and many poultry industry leaders recognize the poultry safety problem and are working on solutions. Consumers rightfully expect, however, that FSIS build today’s best practices into its regulatory system so they can become common practices. Outbreaks linked to poultry products have occurred … [Read more...]
Backyard Poultry Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 97 in 28 States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a report about a backyard poultry Salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 97 people in 28 states. This is not the first such outbreak; many of these outbreaks have been identified in the past few years. One of the issues is that Salmonella bacteria can be naturally present in chickens, even inside hen's ovaries, which then produce contaminated eggs. The pathogen is Salmonella Hadar. Seventeen people have been hospitalized because they are so sick. And 30% of ill persons are children younger than five. Epidemiologic evidence shows that contact with backyard poultry such as chicks and ducklings is the likely source of this outbreak. In interviews, 38, or 86% of 44 ill persons interviewed, said they had contact … [Read more...]
Study Finds Common Chicken Doneness Tests Not Effective
A study published in Plos One has found that common chicken doneness tests are not enough to ensure that pathogens in the bird have been destroyed before it is served. The study was conducted among 75 households in Europe from five countries. Researchers wanted to investigate whether actual and recommended practices for monitoring chicken doneness are safe. And a cross national web survey collected cooking practices for chicken from 3,969 households. Chicken is often contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. There have been many outbreaks linked to improperly cooked or undercooked chicken in the past few years. In a lab kitchen, chicken breast fillets were injected with cocktails of Salmonella and Campylobacter, then cooked to core temperatures between 55°C (131°F) dnd 70°C (158°F). … [Read more...]
Learn Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures For Different Foods
As part of our series on helping beginning cooks learn about food safety during the coronavirus pandemic, the safe minimum cooking temperatures for many foods is critical. These risky foods have to be handled carefully and cooked thoroughly to avoid the risk of a serious foodborne illness. These foods include beef, pork, seafood, chicken, turkey, shellfish, and foods made with eggs. All of these foods have been linked to multistate food poisoning outbreaks in the past. When you handle these foods, make sure to avoid cross-contamination between them and foods that are eaten uncooked. Meat juices dripping on other foods in the fridge is a main source of contamination. Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures First of all, the only way to tell if these foods are safe to eat is by using … [Read more...]
Study Highlights Risks of Food Poisoning With Online Food Ordering
With the coronavirus pandemic making consumers uneasy to step into a store, online food ordering has skyrocketed. Unfortunately, a new study using whole genome sequencing found that an outbreak of Salmonella in Shenzhen, China has been linked to online food orders. There are risks of food poisoning with online food ordering. Because most restaurants around the country are closed, reports of multistate food poisoning outbreaks have plummeted. But many of those facilities are delivering food to consumers. An outbreak may still occur, but it may not be caught by public health officials just because people are sheltering in place. And don't panic just yet; there are things you can do to protect yourself. And this outbreak occurred in July 2018. The Shenzhen Center for Disease … [Read more...]
USDA Increasing Chicken Slaughter Line Speeds, Granting Waivers
According to Food & Water Watch, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service granted another regulatory waived to a chicken plant to increase its chicken slaughter line speeds up to 175 birds per minute with only one FSIS trained inspected at the end of the line. The plant in question is the Foster Farms slaughter and processing plant in Kelso, Washington. Last year, the USDA allowed many chicken slaughter plants to increase their line speeds under the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS). One of those plants failed the FSIS Salmonella performance standard and is in violation of the new criteria established by USDA to qualify for line speed waivers, according to Food & Water Watch. Chicken carcasses are put onto lines and moved past inspectors who check them for obvious … [Read more...]
Tips For Handling Raw Chicken to Avoid Food Poisoning
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released information about handling raw chicken to avoid food poisoning. Raw chicken is often contaminated with pathogens such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Clostridium perfringens. About a million Americans get sick with food poisoning after eating improperly prepared chicken every year. To prevent food poisoning from chicken, there are some things you can do. First, when you're shopping, put any raw poultry in a disposable bag before placing it in your shopping cart. Refrigerate the poultry promptly when you get home. Wash your hands with warm soapy water for 20 seconds after handling raw chicken. And never even rinse or wash raw chicken. The water can cause the bacteria on the chicken to aerosolize and spread it … [Read more...]
Salmonella Outbreak in Canada Linked to Raw Turkey and Chicken Ends
The Salmonella outbreak in Canada linked to raw turkey and chicken is over, according to a notice published on Public Health Canada. Even though the outbreak is over, officials say that "illnesses could be reported because this Salmonella strain is present in some raw turkey and raw chicken products in the Canadian marketplace." Officials recommend that consumers handle raw turkey and raw chicken carefully and cook it thoroughly to 165°F as measured by a food thermometer to avoid food related illnesses such as Salmonella. In total, there were 130 confirmed cases of Salmonella Reading in these provinces and territories: British Columbia (33), Alberta (44), Saskatchewan (8), Manitoba (25), Ontario (9), Quebec (2), New Brunswick (1), Prince Edward Island (1), Northwest Territories … [Read more...]
Top 10 Food Outbreaks of 2019: #8 Raw Chicken Salmonella Infantis
A year-long raw chicken Salmonella Infantis outbreak is the number 8 food poisoning outbreak of 2019, with 129 sick in 32 states. Twenty-five people were hospitalized, and one death in New York was reported. The case count by state in this raw chicken Salmonella Infantis outbreak is: Alabama (1), Arkansas (3), California (1), Colorado (1), Connecticut (3), Delaware (3), Florida (2), Georgia (2), Hawaii (1), Illinois (7), Indiana (1), Kentucky (2), Louisiana (2), Maine (1), Maryland (4), Massachusetts (17), Michigan (4), Minnesota (5), Missouri (3), North Carolina (7), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (9), New York (18), Ohio (8), Pennsylvania (13), Rhode Island (2), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (1), Texas (2), Virginia (2), Washington (2), and Wisconsin (1). Illnesses started in January, … [Read more...]
With No Word on US Listeria Outbreak, Canada Declares Theirs Over
The Listeria monocytogenes outbreak in Canada that is linked to Rosemount brand cooked diced chicken has been declared over, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Meanwhile, there has been no word on the US Listeria outbreak, which was last updated by the CDC on August 23, 2019. That information is important, because according to the investigation announcement, the patients sickened in the US outbreak are sick with a type of Listeria monocytogenes that is closely related genetically to the bacteria that made people sick in Canada. In Canada, seven people are sick in three provinces. The case count by province is: British Columbia (1), Manitoba (1), and Ontario (5). Six of the seven Canadian patients have been hospitalized because they were so ill. The illness onset … [Read more...]
