Tag: pathogen
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USDA Criticized for Proposed Changes to Poultry and Hog Inspection
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report finding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) did not adequately evaluate the impact of proposed poultry and hog inspection changes that would replace some USDA inspectors on slaughter lines with plant personnel tasked with ensuring quality and safety standards.…
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Kitchen Spices Allegedly a Source of Salmonella
A recent article in The New York Times reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is set to release a three-year-long study concluding that imported spices, particularly those from India and Mexico, are contaminated with Salmonella—reportedly the most common source of foodborne illness—at twice the rate of all other imported foods. “In a study…
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USDA Seeks Comments on Salmonella Testing Process
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a request for comments regarding changes to its procedure for Salmonella verification sampling of raw beef products. Among other things, FSIS stated that it will (i) begin “analyzing for Salmonella all raw beef samples that it collects for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli…
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DeLauro Targets Failure of USDA’s Computerized Sampling System
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has sent an August 23, 2013, letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen about “the ongoing problems with the Public Health Information System (PHIS) used by the Food Safety [and] Inspection Service (FSIS).” Citing reports that PHIS recently experienced a system-wide shutdown that…
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NYT Reports “Shipping Continued After Computer Inspection System Failed at Meat Plants”
A recent New York Times report has claimed that the failure of a new computer system used by meatpacking and processing plant inspectors did not stop untested shipments of beef, poultry, pork, and lamb from reaching consumers. According to an August 17, 2013, article by Ron Nixon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) acknowledged the…
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Criminal Trial Against Peanut Corp. Officials and Staff Continued
A federal court in Georgia has issued an order continuing the criminal trial against former Peanut Corp. of America officials and employees, including owner Stewart Parnell, until February 10, 2014. United States v. Parnell, No. 12-12 (M.D. Ga., order entered August 15, 2013). The company was the source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak in 2009,…
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Washington Post Article Questions Whether Chemicals are Masking Salmonella in Poultry
In an August 3, 2013, Washington Post article, writer Kimberly Kindy suggested that some of the chemicals—notably cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), a purportedly common finishing rinse—used in U.S. poultry processing plants may be masking the presence of Salmonella and other pathogens that remain on the birds that are sold to consumers. Titled “USDA Reviews Whether Bacteria-Killing Chemicals…
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Florida Melamine-Tainted Milk Importer Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
A Florida-based import-export company has filed for Chapter 7 protection in bankruptcy court, listing more than $204 million in liabilities from litigation over its role in the import from China of powdered milk contaminated with melamine. In re Exim Brickell, LLC, No. 13-28502 (U.S. Bankruptcy Ct., S.D. Fla., filed August 3, 2013). Exim Brickell, LLC…