Opinion
Thank you ProPublica for the searing story about industry’s and government’s failures: “America’s Food Safety System Failed to Stop a Salmonella Epidemic. It’s Still Making People Sick”
I filed the petition more than a year ago, on Jan. 19, 2020, with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), on behalf of Rick Schiller, Steven Romes, the Porter family, Food & Water Watch, Consumer Federation of America, and Consumer Reports.The petition asks FSIS to declare the following Salmonella “outbreak serotypes” as per se contaminants in meat and poultry products:Salmonella Agona, Anatum, Berta, Blockely, Braenderup, Derby, Dublin, Enteritidis, Hadar, Heidelberg, I 4,[5],12:i:-, Infantis, Javiana, Litchfield, Mbandaka, Mississippi, Montevideo, Muenchen, Newport, Oranienburg, Panama, Poona, Reading, Saintpaul, Sandiego, Schwarzengrund, Senftenberg, Stanley, Thompson, Typhi, and Typhimurium.Reducing salmonellosis from meat and poultry “demands bold action” beyond that yet taken by FSIS.Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, causing 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations, 130 outbreaks, and 420 deaths each year.Here is the original petition – FSIS-2020-0007-0001_attachment_1
