The Obama administration’s proposed cuts to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) signals the government is proceeding with privatized poultry inspection that has been criticized by food safety and worker safety groups. The change in regulations was proposed on January 27, 2012 in spite of hundreds of thousands of comments to the USDA … Read more
Campylobacter is a bacteria that is commonly found in the intestines of poultry and shed in their feces. During slaughter, these bacteria sometimes make their way onto cuts of meat, posing a health threat to consumers. Sometimes these bacteria are spread from infected birds to healthy ones during transport. For example, a healthy bird may … Read more
According to researchers at the University of Liverpool, a mass poultry vaccination program in the UK has led to a dramatic decrease in the number of Salmonella cases since the late 1990s. There are about 6 million cases of salmonellosis in the European Union every year. Salmonella infections rose by epidemic proportions between 1981 and … Read more
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal has published a study looking at Campylobacter infections among poultry processing workers. They found 29 cases of lab-diagnosed Campylobacter infections during a three year period from January 2008 to May 2011. Campylobacter is common in poultry. Infections sicken an estimated 2.4 million people every … Read more
Last May, Food Poisoning Bulletin reported on the state of Maryland banning the use of arsenic in chicken feed. That bill became law on January 1, 2013. Poultry farmers have used arsenic in chicken feed since the 1940s. It treats the disease coccidiosis, which can cause anemia and diarrhea and restricts growth. The FDA approved … Read more
Goldn’n Plump Poultry Inc. of St. Cloud, Minn. is suing a supplier whose delivery of a product not approved for use in poultry cost the company at least $50,000. Wenda America of Naperville, Ill. is named as the defendant in the suit filed December 28 in Stearns County, Minnesota District Court. According to the suit, … Read more
A study conducted at the University of Georgia and published in the May 2013 issue of Food Control has found that adding a blend of essential oils to chicken’s water can cut Salmonella contamination. Salmonella bacteria cause about 1 million cases of foodborne illness in this country every year. And the cost of Salmonella enterica … Read more
Tyson Foods Inc. is blasting a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about an accident involving a chlorine gas leak at the company’s plant in Springdale Ark., in June 2011. The incident occurred when a worker at the poultry processing plant began to pour sodium hypochlorite into a 55-gallon drum that … Read more
Washing chickens and turkeys before cooking is a common practice in many kitchens that is completely unnecessary and potentially dangerous. Salmonella, Campylobacter, and other pathogenic and potentially deadly bacteria are always going to be on raw chicken. In fact, Campylobacter is found on almost 50% of commercially available whole chickens. Thorough cooking kills those bacteria … Read more
Phyllis McKelvey, a former USDA poultry inspector, has started a petition on Change.org against HIMP, the USDA’s new plan to reform poultry inspection. The program, called HACCP-based Inspection Models Project, has been criticized by many organizations, including the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumer League, and Food & Water Watch, who believe it will … Read more