18.10.2013
A coalition of consumer groups has demanded that the U.S. Department of Agriculture ask chicken producer Foster Farms to recall chicken products from three central California processing plants that have been linked to an ongoing Salmonella outbreak. At least 317 people in 20 states have been sickened in the outbreak since March.
The Safe Food Coalition (SFC), a collection of eight consumer groups, addressed a letter to the USDA requesting that the agency ask for the poultry producer’s recall. The letter also suggested steps for the agency to “strengthen its regulatory program.”
At least 42 percent of outbreak victims have been hospitalized, while the average hospitalization rate for Salmonella Heidelberg outbreaks sits at around 20 percent.
Last week, USDA announced that it would not shut down the Foster Farms plants, reporting satisfaction with food-safety changes the company had made at its plants in Fresno and Livingston. The agency had earlier threatened to suspend operations if the company did not implement immediate corrective actions.
The current outbreak raises concerns about the extent of contamination on chicken parts, which consumers frequently purchase at the supermarket. FSIS recently finalized a nationwide baseline study on raw chicken parts and estimated a national prevalence of 24.02% for Salmonella and 21.70% for Campylobacter. However the agency has not yet taken action on raw chicken parts. The SFC asked the FSIS to publish performance standards for raw chicken parts in order to reduce the prevalence of pathogens on these products. According to the National Chicken Council the USDA has a performance standard of 7.5 percent for Salmonella in whole carcass chickens.
According the SFC the FSIS should declare certain antibiotic-resistant strains of Salmonella, including the strain identified in this outbreak, as adulterants.
The classification of “adulterant” by USDA standards is reserved for substances or organisms that are illegal to ship in a given food item. Salmonella is not defined as an adulterant, as it is typically always present within chicken products in small quantities; suppliers can take necessary precautions to reduce the amount of Salmonella present, but are unable to certify their products are free of the bacteria.
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Case count
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338
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States
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20 and Puerto Rico; Most ill persons (75%) have been reported from California
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Deaths
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0
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Hospitalizations
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40%
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Age range
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1-93 years
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Source
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Foster Farms
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Cause
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Salmonella Heidelberg. Seven strains of Salmonella Heidelberg bacteria have been identified as being linked to this outbreak. The outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg are resistan
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