salmonella

Today, I am in Athens, Georgia, visiting the University of Georgia (UGA) and meeting with university leaders, faculty, and students to learn about the great work being done here to advance agriculture and solve some of our most pressing challenges.

NIFA has a long history of investing in agricultural science, and for much of the research it takes years to see the payoff. I’d like to highlight two projects at the University of Georgia NIFA has funded that are seeing real outcomes today.

Los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC, por sus siglas en ingles) han publicado un reporte llamando Signos vitales (“Vital Signs”) enfocado en los riesgo de salud relacionados con el patógeno Listeria monocytogenes, causante de enfermedades a través de los alimentos.  Algunos alimentos tienden a presentar un mayor riesgo de contaminación con la Listeria monocytogenes. Así se demuestra en la evaluación de riesgos Listeria monocytogenes in Retail Delicatessens, recientemente publicada por el Servicio de Inocuidad e Inspección de Alimentos (FSIS, por sus siglas en inglés) del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos y Nutrición Aplicada del FDA, han hecho que recientemente la Listeria moncytogenes sean el centro de atención.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s June issue of Vital Signs focuses on the health risks associated with the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.  Certain foods are more likely to pose of higher risk of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, as outlined in a recently published risk assessment,  Listeria monocytogenes in Retail Delicatessens, by USDA’s, Food Safety and Inspection Service and the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Cross posted from Food Safety News:

My passion for public health stems from my career as an infectious disease doctor, watching families cope with the heartbreak caused by preventable diseases, including foodborne illness.  I know what it feels like to explain to a husband in shock that the reason his wife is on life support is because of something she ate that was contaminated with a deadly pathogen.

Now, I am the Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  In my current role, I oversee dedicated USDA inspectors, scientists, veterinarians, and numerous other personnel who protect food that we eat every day.  There is nothing more fundamental than being able to feed your own family a meal that will not make you sick, or worse, put you in the hospital.

I understand that there has been a lot of confusion about a proposal by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to modernize inspection at poultry slaughter plants.

I would like to try to eliminate that confusion.

Secretary Vilsack believes there is no more fundamental function of government than protecting consumers, and there is no mission more important to USDA than ensuring the safety of our food.