health and safety

You may have heard about the FSIS announcement this week that the Wolverine Packing Company in Detroit, MI was recalling 1.8 million pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.  This recall is linked to 11 patients in four states.  I wanted to provide an update on what FSIS is doing based on the evidence available.

FSIS was notified of the first illness on May 8 and immediately began working with our partners at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to find the source of these illnesses.  Based on the initial findings in the investigations, FSIS and CDC were able to establish a direct link to ground beef products supplied by Wolverine Packing Company.

As grilling season heats up, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is enhancing our food safety testing program for ground beef.  While FSIS has a range of safeguards to reduce E. coli in ground beef, this summer we will begin new testing to improve the safeguards against Salmonella as well.  Salmonella is commonly found in ground beef and, in fact, caused an illness outbreak in January 2013 in six states.  Salmonella is an especially difficult bacteria for food safety experts to address because it is so prevalent in almost all food sources.

Recognizing that we need more information about the prevalence of Salmonella in ground beef to better prevent food-borne illness, FSIS is “super-sizing” our pathogen testing program to include Salmonella every time our laboratories test for E. coli in samples of ground beef and ground beef sources. Because the samples taken for E. coli testing are much larger than those we have taken in the past for Salmonella, there is higher likelihood that we will be able to detect the bacteria if it is present.

While rates of Salmonella illnesses remain stubbornly high in this country, the United States is continuing to rely on a 60-year-old poultry inspection system developed under the Eisenhower Administration.  Our knowledge of foodborne illness and poultry processing has improved significantly since then, and our food safety measures should too. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has examined new approaches to poultry safety through an extensive multi-year pilot project.  In January 2012, FSIS put forward a modernization proposal based on this project because the data showed modernizing our procedures to combat invisible pathogens, rather than relying extensively on visual inspection, could prevent 5,000 foodborne illnesses per year. As a public health agency, it is crucial that we make use of 21st century science to reduce pathogens and save lives.

Some of the changes being proposed in the modernization plan concern some groups who misunderstand what FSIS is putting forward. In particular, some have claimed that the allowed speed increase for evisceration lines would lead to higher injury rates among poultry plant workers.  But a newly released report provides evidence that this isn’t the case.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ensures that America’s meat, poultry, and processed egg products are safe and wholesome. Educating the public on proper food handling practices is a core agency mission as well. It’s even more important when one considers the impact safe food handling practices have on children.

With a generation of children brought up relating the word “celebrity” to chefs just as readily as they do to athletes, food safety education has a more receptive audience among teens and young adults than ever before. With the help of parents and guardians, the current generation of children could have fewer preventable cases of foodborne illness than ever before.

Recently, the New York Times published an article claiming that job vacancies in the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) are leading to more food recalls. That's not true.  The fact is, vacancies within the agency do not mean there are less inspectors on the job in our nation's meat plants.

FSIS is legally required to have a sufficient number of inspectors present in every single meat and poultry plant in the country.  No plant in America is allowed to operate if it does not have the required number of safety inspectors in the plant at all times, and every plant currently operating in America has the necessary food inspection staff.

Today, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service shared with the public our “New Year’s Resolutions” for Fiscal Year 2014. Like many of the people who consume the products we regulate, we set new goals for ourselves at the beginning of each year. Known as the Annual Performance Plan, this list of key results we plan to achieve between now and September 2014 to do our jobs better, which means making America’s supply of meat, poultry, and egg products safer to eat. This is our third APP.  It is something that we take very seriously.  It is consistent with our emphasis on performance and our efforts to improve how we do our jobs every day.

The goals listed in our APP are all measurable. By setting specific targets and measuring our progress throughout the year, we have a clearer picture of what is working well, which initiatives are not effective, and where we may not be challenging ourselves enough. By making our targets public, we are holding ourselves accountable to you, and we are giving the regulated industry, consumers, and other interested persons an overview of our priorities and of our expectations for the year ahead.

You've invited the guests, decorated the table and prepared the food. Then the guests are delayed, call to cancel or don't show at all. Holiday meals and other celebrations require careful planning to ensure that everything goes as planned. When guests encounter emergencies and the meal must be delayed or cancelled, food must be handled "just right" to remain safe.

Every Thanksgiving, the USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline receives inquiries from consumers who need help with these unplanned situations. Here are just a few.

Se han invitado familiares y amigos, decorado la mesa y preparado la comida. Entonces, los invitados están atrasados, llaman para cancelar o simplemente no se aparecen. Las cenas festivas y otras celebraciones requieren una planificación cuidadosa para asegurarse que todo resulte según planificado. Cuando los invitados afrontan emergencias y la comida debe ser retrasada o cancelada, ésta debe ser manejada “cuidadosamente” para continuar siendo inocua.

Cada Día de Acción de Gracias, La Línea Directa sobre Carnes y Aves del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos de América recibe consultas de consumidores que necesitan ayuda con estas situaciones no planificadas. He aquí algunas de éstas.

La necesidad de velocidad. Carencia de espacio de horno. Tradiciones de familia. Cortes de corriente. Todos son motivos por cual muchos cocineros podrían buscar nuevos modos de asar el pavo entero fuera del horno. Considere los métodos siguientes sugeridos por la Línea de Información Sobre Carnes y Aves.

Pero primero, un mensaje sobre la inocuidad de los alimentos. Cualquier método que usted use para traer su pavo a la mesa, tenga un termómetro de alimento al alcance. Con el termómetro usted puede asegurar que el pavo ha alcanzado la temperatura interna mínima de 165 °F en la parte íntima del muslo, ala y la parte más gruesa del pecho. Si su pavo esta rellenado, el centro del relleno también debería alcanzar 165 °F. Después de cocinar,  permita un tiempo de reposo de 20 minutos antes de rebanar el pavo.

The need for speed. Lack of oven space. Family traditions. Power outages. All are reasons many cooks might look for ways to roast a whole turkey outside the usual oven. Consider the following methods suggested by the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline.

But first, a message about food safety. No matter which method you choose to get your turkey to the table, have a food thermometer handy so you can make sure the turkey has reached the safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F in the innermost part of the thigh, wing and the thickest part of the breast.  If your turkey is stuffed, the center of the stuffing should also reach 165 °F. After cooking, let the turkey stand for 20 minutes before carving.