Following the Jack-in-the-Box foodborne illness outbreak in 1993, the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared E. coli O157:H7 to an adulterant in raw ground beef. In the years that followed, that declaration forced food companies to make significant changes in the methods by which they dressed cattle and processed the resulting products. While E. coli remained elusive in raw beef products, causing dozens of foodborne illness outbreaks and hundreds of food product recalls in the ensuing decades, the overall safety of beef products continued to improve over time. Today, E. coli recalls involving ground beef are markedly rare – no pun intended.
Now, 30 years after Jack-in-the-Box, with industry demonstrating significant success against E. coli, USDA is increasingly turning its attention and resources to combating Salmonella in poultry products. USDA estimates that, every year, 1.35 million consumers become sick from Salmonella infections. USDA has also reported that, over the course of the past decade, the level of Salmonella illnesses has not decreased and, as a result, the agency has not met any of its stated goals for long-term reductions in Salmonella illnesses. The agency also recognizes that, based upon current trends, USDA will not achieve its desired target of a 25% reduction in annual Salmonella illnesses by 2030.