Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Orange color Polish crested chicken on exhibition in a cage.
Photo illustration

Homeowners with backyard chickens have now given federal agriculture officials reason to worry. A contagious viral disease affecting the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems of birds and poultry is spreading through backyard exhibition
Continue Reading Virulent Newcastle Disease means backyard chicken craze needs to clean up its act

A federal review of laboratories handling many of the most dangerous pathogens on the planet, including some that can be foodborne such as Brucella and bacterium that cause botulism poisoning, shows room for improvement.

The “high-containment laboratories” are overseen by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services via
Continue Reading GAO says USDA needs to tighten up policies at certain labs

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is working with state public health, veterinary, and agriculture officials, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to investigate four multi-state outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to contact with live poultry. As of June 29, 2015,
Continue Reading CDC: 181 People in 40 States Infected With Salmonella From Contact With Live Poultry

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that it has two preferred options regarding alfalfa genetically modified to resist Monsanto’s weed killer Roundup–that it should either be allowed without restrictions, or allowed with certain geographic and isolation restrictions on seeds and, in some places, on hay.

In analyzing the potential

Continue Reading USDA Completes Impact Statement on GM Alfalfa