A Salmonella Outbreak Is Happening And The Government Is Shutdown

By Sam Lewis

California chicken packaging plants pinpointed as source of illness

The USDA is urging consumers to thoroughly cook chicken and take additional food preparation safety measures after a salmonella outbreak has made hundreds sick in 18 states over the last several months. The agency issued a public health alert Monday, Oct 7 for raw chicken packaged in three Foster Farms plants in California. Salmonella Heidelberg, a common pathogen that contaminates meat during the slaughtering process, is the culprit of 278 reported cases of illness from the products since March.

Retail stores in CA, OR, and WA received and sold the contaminated product, the USDA statement says. The illnesses have come mostly out of California, but salmonella contaminated chicken has reached people in 18 states. The USDA believes the outbreak began in March, but was not made aware of illnesses associated with it until July, says Dan Engeljohn with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Engeljohn adds that finding the source of the illnesses was not an easy task for FSIS, and has not linked the illnesses to a specific product or production period. However, it has narrowed the suspects down to three packages. The products in doubt are labeled with tags reading P6137, P6137A, and P7632.

Foster Farms — which packaged the chicken in a Livingston, CA and two Fresno, CA facilities — has no plans for a recall, with claims that Salmonella infections were due to consumption of undercooked or improperly handled chicken. State officials in CA were not planning a recall either, instead suggesting consumers cook chicken to a minimum of 165 degrees. “This is the important public health issue,” says Anita Gore, spokeswoman for the California Department of Public Health. “Chicken can carry bacteria, and chicken needs to be fully cooked.” In addition, Gore advised people to wash their hands before and after handling raw meat and to seek medical attention if showing signs of a Salmonella infection.

Under normal circumstances, the CDC monitors microbial pathogens that cause food poisoning outbreaks across multiple states. Due to the government shutdown, the CDC has been operating at a significantly lowered capacity, having 2 of its 80 staffers on board to examine foodborne pathogens. The CDC has recalled 30 workers from furlough to investigate the current outbreak. It is not clear, as of now, if the furlough has contributed to the delay in response to this outbreak, as it began months ago. It is clear, however, that the government shutdown isn’t helping the CDC straighten out this outbreak and preventing future ones.