The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is releasing a proposed determination to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products when they exceed a very low level of Salmonella contamination. This announcement is a significant first step that builds on FSIS’ proposed regulatory framework to reduce Salmonella infections linked to poultry products, which was released in October 2022.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that Salmonella bacteria cause approximately 1.35 million human infections and 26,500 hospitalizations in the United States every year. Of those infections, over 23% are attributed to poultry consumption. Foodborne illness can have a devastating impact, both personally and financially, on people’s lives, the cost of which reverberates through the economy. Data from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) show the total cost for foodborne Salmonella infections in the United States is a staggering $4.1 billion annually, and the cost for the loss of productivity to the economy is $88 million. These are real costs to real people that can be prevented.