The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has released its Salmonella Action Plan to address the estimated 1.3 million illnesses caused by the pathogen each year. “Far too many Americans are sickened by Salmonella every year,” said Under Secretary for Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen. “The aggressive and comprehensive steps detailed in the Salmonella Action Plan will protect consumers by making meat and poultry products safer.” The plan identifies modernizing the outdated poultry slaughter inspection system as a top priority and states that the move “is likely to result in a reduction of at least 4,286 Salmonella illnesses per year in the United States.” It proceeds to lay out the goals of enhancing sampling programs, training for inspection staff, and education and outreach. The action plan notes that there is evidence from outbreak data that pork products contribute to Salmonella illnesses, stating, “Decreasing sanitary dressing problems in hog slaughter establishments, particularly related to removing the skin, could decrease a source of Salmonella on carcasses.” So FSIS plans to publish a directive of instructions for inspectors on the verification activities related to sanitary dressing procedures in hog slaughter operations. FSIS also stated that the agency needs to develop new enforcement strategies, could modify how it posts Salmonella categories, and will explore how lymph nodes contribute to Salmonella poisoning.
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
The food safety system in Serbia is hindered by the number of agencies involved, a lack of resources, and ineffective punishments, according to a report.
The report from the Anti-
As part of its enforcement activities, the Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or
Under federal law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and his delegees may amend regulations to allow further disclosure, according to the opinion.
As part of its enforcement activities, the Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or
A California pumpkin patch and petting zoo associated with an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections reopened Nov. 6 with the owners saying environmental tests for the pathogen had
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for frozen, not ready-to-eat (NRTE), meat and poultry products because of misbranding and
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
Recent
A man in Poland has been charged for threatening to contaminate food unless he was paid a ransom in Bitcoin.
The indictment follows an investigation supervised by the District Prosecutor&
