October 17, 2022

 

USDA proposes massive changes to poultry sector to reduce food poisoning

 

 

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed massive changes in the processing of chicken and turkey meat in the country that may reduce illnesses from food contamination, but meat firms must make significant adjustments to their operations, Time reported.

 

Currently, consumers are largely responsible for handling raw poultry carefully in the kitchen, following the standard recommendations to not wash raw chicken or turkey (doing so spreads the bacteria), using separate utensils when preparing meat, and cooking to 165 degrees. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA wants to take action by beginning with the farmers who raise the poultry and moving on to the processing facility where the meat is produced.

 

Their primary target for food poisoning is one of the three salmonella serotypes that account for one-third of all human illnesses from chicken and turkey products. There are more than 2,500 salmonella serotypes. The organisation suggests limiting their use on poultry products.

 

The cost of doctor and hospital visits, recuperation, and early deaths is estimated by the USDA to total of US$4.1 billion annually due to foodborne salmonella infections.

 

Similar action was taken in 1994 by the USDA's FSIS, which identified specific E. coli strains as contaminants in ground beef and began testing for the pathogen. As a result, the number of illnesses linked to the meat has significantly decreased.

 

The agency is recommending a regulatory framework that would include checking incoming flocks of chickens and turkeys for the bacteria that commonly affects the intestines and kills 1.3 million people annually. Symptoms of salmonella infection in humans can include diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting that can last for several days. Officials are hoping that testing chickens and turkeys before they are killed will persuade farmers to use techniques that lessen the bacterial infection on the bird before it is processed for meat.

 

As a second measure, sampling for the bacteria at various points inside the processing facility would be implemented in order to improve monitoring for salmonella during processing. Establishing a maximum level of bacterial contamination permitted and perhaps restricting the three specific types of salmonella that can cause illness would be the third significant change. Meat that would be out of compliance or that contained prohibited strains of salmonella could be kept off the market.

 

The vast majority of poultry products are produced at about 220 of the approximately 3,000 federally inspected facilities that slaughter poultry, according to the USDA. The agency stated that it is difficult to estimate how many people would be impacted by the upcoming rulemaking at this time.

 

On November 3, the FSIS will hold a public hearing to gather feedback from the poultry industry and other stakeholders before beginning a protracted process of proposing new rules. The government wants to develop new rules and regulations that could be implemented starting in the following year and enforced in two years.

 

Sandra Eskin, USDA's Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, said before establishing strict regulations, the USDA will take its time to introduce these ideas and solicit feedback, adding that it plans to start developing rules in the middle of 2023 and finish them in two years.

For years, consumer advocates have pushed for this kind of regulation of poultry products. Eskin said that the changes are being pushed by US President Joe Biden's administration.

 

One of the nation's top attorneys for consumers harmed by food sources, Seattle state-based Bill Marler, applauded the agency's decision, which acknowledges that preventing salmonella from spreading to animals before they enter processing plants is essential to lowering meat contamination. As a starting point, he advised FSIS to declare salmonella to be an adulterant, a contaminant that can lead to a food-borne illness, in all meat.

 

For a few decades, the industry has struggled to reduce food-borne salmonella infections in accordance with government targets. Eskin said a 25% reduction would be necessary to achieve the new target set for 2030 of 11.5 infections per 100,000 people annually.

 

Despite the fact that the industry was able to cut the number of chicken samples containing salmonella by 50% between 2017 and 2021, Eskin said the number of salmonella illnesses over the previous 20 years has not significantly decreased. The consumption of poultry products is to blame for more than 23% of foodborne salmonella illnesses, with nearly 17% coming from chicken meat and more than 6% from turkey meat.

 

Salmonella control initiatives are a top priority, according to the North American Meat Institute, the trade association for American packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal, and turkey.

 

Julie Anna Potts, the president and CEO of the North American Meat Institute, said they find it encouraging that FSIS is following the standard rulemaking procedure and will look forward to reviewing the proposal and offering commentary from the industry.

 

Salmonella reduction initiatives are supported by the National Chicken Council, which represents businesses that raise and process chickens for meat.

 

Ashley Peterson, the organization's senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, said they are concerned that the proposed framework currently lacks industry input, research, and data.

 

-      Time