The Salmonella Action Plan presents a number of aggressive steps the agency will take to prevent Salmonella-related illnesses
The U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
today released its Salmonella Action
Plan that outlines the steps it will take to address the most pressing problem
it faces--Salmonella in meat and
poultry products. An estimated 1.3 million illnesses can be attributed to Salmonella every year.
The Salmonella Action Plan is the agency’s
strategy to best address the threat of Salmonella
in meat and poultry products. The plan
identifies modernizing the outdated poultry slaughter inspection system as a
top priority. By focusing inspectors’ duties solely on food safety, at least
5,000 illnesses can be prevented each year.
Enhancing Salmonella sampling and testing programs
is also part of this comprehensive effort,
ensuring that these programs factor in the latest scientific information
available and account for emerging trends in foodborne illness. Inspectors will
also be empowered with the tools necessary to expeditiously pinpoint problems. With more information about a plant’s
performance history and with better methods for assessing in-plant conditions,
inspectors will be better positioned to detect Salmonella earlier, before it can cause an outbreak.
In
addition, the plan outlines several actions FSIS will take to drive innovations
that will lower Salmonella
contamination rates, including establishing new performance standards;
developing new strategies for inspection and throughout the full farm-to-table
continuum; addressing all potential sources of Salmonella; and focusing the Agency’s education and outreach tools
on Salmonella.
These
efforts will build upon the work that USDA has done over the past several
years. In 2011, USDA strengthened the performance standards for Salmonella in poultry with a goal of
significantly reducing illnesses by 20,000 per year. And through the Salmonella Initiative Program, plants are now using processing
techniques designed to directly reduce Salmonella
in raw meat and poultry. Thanks to these
innovative technologies and tough policies, Salmonella
rates in young chickens have dropped over 75 percent since 2006.
Learn more
about the Salmonella Action Plan.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/foodborne-illness-and-disease/salmonella/sap
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