The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has proposed to declare salmonella an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products when those products exceed a very low level of such contamination, a recent press release from the department said.
The proposal is a significant step toward reducing salmonella infections associated with poultry products, the release said. The department is proposing to conduct sample tests of the chicken component of breaded stuffed raw chicken products before they are stuffed and breaded. If the chicken does meet the lower level for salmonella, it would not be allowed to be used for stuffed chicken products.
"Breaded stuffed raw chicken products are pre-browned and may appear cooked, but the chicken is raw," the release said. "These products are stuffed with ingredients, such as a raw vegetable, butter, cheese or meat such as ham. The products are typically cooked by consumers from a frozen state, which increases the risk of the product not reaching the internal temperature needed to destroy Salmonella."
The release further noted that it can be difficult for consumers to accurately determine the internal temperature of the products during cooking because the various ingredients may cook at different rates.
“USDA is taking science-based, decisive action to drive down Salmonella illnesses linked to poultry products," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release. "Today’s proposal represents the first step in a broader effort to control Salmonella contamination in all poultry products, as well as a continued commitment to protecting American consumers from foodborne illness.”
Salmonella bacteria causes approximately 1.35 million human infections and 26,500 hospitalizations in the U.S. each year, according to estimations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 23% of those infections are attributed to the consumption of poultry. Data from the USDA's Economic Research Service showed that the total yearly cost of foodborne salmonella infections in the U.S. is $4.1 billion, and the economic cost for the loss of productivity is $88 million.
“These are real costs to real people that can and should be prevented,” the release said.
