Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) labels are not always informative. The warning label prescribed in 9 C.F.R. 317.2(l) and 381.125(b) has faded into the background of consumer’s awareness by overuse. Other terms such as “uncooked” or “ready to cook” for partially cooked or breaded products are not as clear as “raw” or “contains raw…
Salmonella: The Bacterium
The genus Salmonella is diverse. Currently there are three recognized species: S. enterica, S. bongori and S. subterranean, with S. enterica the most important specie affecting human and food animal health. However, even the species S. enterica is diverse. Unlike most bacterial genera, Salmonella is best known by the Kauffman-White system serotypes that are based…
Salmonellosis: The Problem
In 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more than 500 people were sickened by seven strains of Salmonella Heidelberg linked to chicken. However, salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Heidelberg is only in fourth place, according to CDC’s outbreak data; in 2011, it was only in seventh place. Salmonellosis is…