crappy American meat

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Fri Aug 9 03:54:57 PDT 2002



> What is the result? Drum roll please...
>
> The incidence of salmonella-infected US chicken has risen from 29% in
> 1969 to up to 60% of chicken sold today.

FWIW, his figures don't come near to squaring with USDA figures, which are both smaller and rapidly falling. But of course, this brings to mind the old George Carlin routine about how saying the terrible things in your food come in small quantities doesn't make it any more appetizing.

http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2002/04/0154.htm

Release No. 0154.02

Alisa Harrison (202) 720-4623

Caryn Long (202) 720-9113

USDA DATA SHOW A REDUCTION OF SALMONELLA IN RAW MEAT AND POULTRY

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2002- Data released today by the

U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that the prevalence of Salmonella

in raw meat and poultry has decreased in comparison to studies

conducted prior to implementation of the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard

Analysis and Critical Control Points (PR/HACCP) system of inspection.

"This data shows Salmonella prevalence levels well below

the product baselines set prior to HACCP," said Agriculture Secretary

Ann M. Veneman. "This indicates that HACCP has contributed to a

reduction in the prevalence of Salmonella in the nation's meat and

poultry products."

Implementation of PR/HACCP, a science-based inspection

system, began in 1998. The system requires that establishments

develop a plan to prevent hazards and reduce pathogens in products.

In only the second year of aggregate data on all sizes of

plants, the new data indicates for combined test results, that all

categories of product show improvement over baseline studies conducted

prior to PR/HACCP implementation. Combined test results for

establishments of all sizes show lower Salmonella prevalence in

1998-2001 than in baseline studies: broilers average 10.7 percent

under HACCP, compared to 20.0 percent prior to HACCP; market hogs

average 5.4 percent compared to 8.7 percent; cows and bulls average

2.2 percent compared to 2.7 percent; steers and heifers average 0.4

percent compared to 1.0 percent; ground beef averages 3.4 percent

compared to 7.5 percent; ground chicken averages 15.7 percent compared

to 44.6 percent; and ground turkey averages 29.2 percent compared to

49.9 percent.

The decrease in the prevalence of Salmonella in raw meat and poultry

from 1998- 2001 correlates with reports from the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention indicating a decline in human illnesses linked

to Salmonella during the same time period. Salmonella is one of the

leading causes of foodborne illness and consumption of food

contaminated with Salmonella can cause salmonellosis.

Details of the new report can be found at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.



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