In 1987, the Meat Science Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, prepared an Israel — United States Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation funding request to reduce the presence of pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella on poultry and to more readily remove feathers during processing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was to develop a procedure to reduce Salmonella and other pathogenic bacteria, and scientists from Israel were to improve feather removal. Salmonella bacteria are of concern not only on poultry but all slaughter animals. The proposal was not funded, but the problem remains today.
Dan Flynn, of Food Safety News, reported in 2014 that 19% of poultry and 12% of beef are implicated in foodborne disease outbreaks. Mr. Flynn listed 15 pathogens by the Economic Research Service of the USDA study with a mean figure for the problem they represent.