A misconception in the poultry industry is that processing can solve all pathogen challenges. Learn how Salmonella vaccines can help take pressure off in-plant interventions, lowering Salmonella loads before the birds reach the processing facility.

As most of you know, as a food industry lawyer, I have represented the food industry for over 20 years. During the course of that time, I have closely tracked evolving USDA policy, the strengthening of FSIS inspection and surveillance programs, the continuing parade of food product recalls, and the nearly monthly emergence of new foodborne illness outbreaks.

There are several factors that can make controlling Salmonella in poultry difficult. Chief among them is the long-standing perception held by some operations that processing-plant interventions can eliminate most of the risk associated with any potential threat.

Bacterial pathogens, such as Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter, continue to be the leading suspected causes of foodborne illnesses from poultry products today.

Controlling pathogens in meat and poultry processing is particularly challenging given the multiple points of contact. 

Another recall just came across the news feed. A few minutes before that, there was a news flash about a foodborne outbreak. It got me to thinking: What is the correlation, if any, between the foodborne outbreaks and recalls?