The Poultry Industry Is Speaking Highly Of New, Stricter USDA Standards
By Laurel Maloy, contributing writer, Food Online
Though only a few of the biggest names, such as Foster Farms, take the majority of the heat for illnesses and deaths associated with foodborne pathogens, this is a fight for which every food processor must bear some responsibility
The USDA recently announced tougher poultry standards in an effort to further reduce Salmonella and campylobacter outbreaks. The industry has long been plagued with ridicule concerning its apparent lack of urgency over foodborne pathogens that routinely haunt its chicken processors. The fact is that both Salmonella and campylobacter are commonly found in chickens, from the egg to the carcass. Compounding this bothersome statistic is the fact that up to half of the identified Salmonella strains are antibiotic resistant, resulting in even more hospitalizations and deaths.
Antibiotic resistance is due to the attempt to control these pathogens through the use of prophylactic antibiotics fed to chickens, whether they are sick or not. Considered “sub-therapeutic,” small doses of human-grade antibiotics are given to prevent illness and to increase weight gain. The intent’s admirable. However, the long-term effects are just now becoming apparent. The antibiotics are absorbed by the meat, and then ingested by the population, setting up the possibility for built-up resistance. Additionally, the germs too are evolving in order to survive the onslaught of these powerful antibiotics. This has, over time, created a situation where even the American Medical Association (AMA) is alarmed and speaking out. This practice is currently being examined and discontinued across the industry.
The poultry industry recently responded to the USDA’s newest announcement concerning the development of its Salmonella Action Plan (SAP), first launched in 2013. The vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the National Chicken Council (NCC), Ashley Peterson, PhD, indicates that the industry is wholly on board. She touts the industry’s commitment to strengthening sanitation programs and implementing temperature controls on both carcasses and parts in order to reduce contamination. She iterates that the industry has been working proactively to address these issues in an attempt to meet or exceed the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) standards.
To be fair, the chicken industry is not the only one guilty of utilizing “just-in-case” antibiotics. The beef and pork industries also use them; it is just the incidents of foodborne outbreaks due to these other meat products are fewer. Hence, less attention, while the poultry industry bears the brunt of the negative press.
FSIS tracks the industry’s progress in its Quarterly Progress Reports on Salmonella and Campylobacter. The renewed influx of monies and energy dedicated to research has reduced the incidents of Salmonella and Campylobacter on whole chickens. For the period from the first quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2014, Salmonella was reduced by 63 percent. Since FSIS began testing for Campylobacter in 2011, the occurrences have been reduced by 30 percent. As an example, Foster Farms has managed to maintain a Salmonella level at 2 percent for the last nine consecutive months. This success, however, came at a relatively steep price. Foster Farms took major hits to its brand as the result of highly-publicized foodborne illness outbreaks, before spending $75 million on a food-safety program launched in 2013. Foster Farms’ program saw Salmonella levels drop system-wide, from the breeder to the farm to its processing plants.
Foster Farms is sharing what it has learned with other poultry and meat producers. Its program has been credited by both the USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has given its inspectors the power to issue recalls and even instigate shutdowns. These no-nonsense, bolder, more-aggressive means by which to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter are just the beginning — Listeria and other common foodborne pathogens are also targeted for destruction. Those who don’t rally ‘round may very well find their business going down.