FSIS releases Salmonella action plan

The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service released a comprehensive action plan detailing the agency’s strategy to address Salmonella prevention in meat and poultry products. A top priority highlighted in “The Salmonella Action Plan” is USDA’s initiative to modernize the poultry slaughter inspection system. The much-debated plan calls for company employees in most chicken and turkey slaughter plants to check eviscerated carcasses for visual defects and sorting out those that are unlikely to pass federal inspection. A single federal inspector would be stationed at the end of the line, just before the chill tank, to conduct a final visual inspection. USDA believes that focusing inspectors’ duties solely on food safety will prevent roughly 5,200 foodborne illnesses annually. Read More