Human illnesses caused by Salmonella has been an issue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and USDA’s FSIS have been grappling with for many years. Indeed, CDC estimates that, each year, Salmonella is responsible for approximately 1.35 million human illnesses and 26,500 hospitalizations in the US. In turn, FSIS believes that the vast majority of these illnesses are caused by the handling and consumption of foods, such as poultry, that are contaminated with the bacteria.
In response, FSIS has spent years debating and then unveiling regulatory proposals designed to lower the incidence of Salmonella contamination in certain foods, with a major focus on poultry products. In the most recent pronouncement by the agency, FSIS stated its intention to declare any raw stuffed and breaded poultry product containing Salmonella to be adulterated. The net effect, the agency hopes, is to begin to lower the numbers of annual Salmonella infections caused by contaminated foods.