Posted December 11, 2013
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS) recently released an action plan aimed at reducing
Salmonella contamination, according to an article by the Oregonian available here.
The action plan comes after a Salmonella outbreak
traced to Foster Farms chicken was found to contain antibiotic resistant
bacteria. USDA inspected the plant in
Kelso, WA, increased testing, and the company adopted new procedures. This “managed to curtail Salmonella contamination
on chicken processed in Kelso, eventually ending the outbreak.”
USDA says this success shows that Salmonella infections
can be reduced. The FSIS action plan,
available here,
sets out a priority list for the agency. The list includes:
1) a proposed poultry slaughter rule that modernizes
inspection;
2) sample related activities;
3) develop new plant strategies, including training for
inspection program personnel;
4) develop a directive for sanitary dressing in hogs;
5) consider modifying how we post salmonella categories;
6) other performance standard related activities,
including risk assessments and development of new standards;
7) develop new enforcement strategies;
8) explore the contribution of lymph nodes to
salmonella contamination;
9) assess pre-harvest contamination; and
10) focus on the Agency’s education and outreach tools
and resources on Salmonella.
Dr. Robert Tauxe, a top food safety infectious disease
specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “I would
call this a major step forward…It’s very impressive.”
Some, however, are critical of the plan, saying it does
not go far enough in addressing antibiotic resistance, according to an article
by the LA Times available here. The Washington-based Center for Science in
the Public Interest wants USDA to treat antibiotic resistant salmonella like
other pathogens such as E. coli.
Salmonella has not been held to those standards, but is treated as “a
naturally occurring bacteria that can be mitigated through cooking.”
Elisabeth Hagen, Under Secretary for Food Safety, said
the agency could take on antibiotic resistance only by reducing salmonella
across the board. She said, “We have
limitations on what we can do…Antibiotic resistance doesn’t start where we have
jurisdiction. It happens in farms.” Hagen also said reducing illness is a top
priority and that this was the most comprehensive effort the agency has taken
to reduce salmonella.
For more information on food safety, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
