USDA is setting new standards for the levels of salmonella and another pathogen in broilers (young chickens) and turkeys as part of an effort to strengthen food safety.
After two years under the new standards, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service estimates that 39,000 illnesses will be avoided each year under the new Campylobacter standards, and 26,000 fewer illnesses each year under the revised Salmonella standards.
The new standards are the first-ever for Campylobacter, and mark the first revision to the Salmonella standards for chicken since 1996 and for turkeys since the first standards were set in 2005, says USDA.
The performance standards set a level in percentage of samples testing positive for a given pathogen an establishment must achieve and play a key role in reducing the prevalence of food-borne pathogens and preventing harm to consumers. The new standards would hold poultry slaughterhouses more accountable by decreasing the number of samples allowed to test positive for the pathogens.
The President's Food Safety Working Group has set a goal of having 90 percent of all poultry establishments meeting the revised Salmonella standard by the end of 2010.
Salmonella is the most common cause of food poisoning in the US , according to the Centers for Disease Control. Close behind is campylobacter. Both can sicken those who eat raw or undercooked poultry or eggs.
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