Durbin, Feinstein, Gillibrand applaud poultry standard as National Chicken Council reviews it
January 22, 2015 |05:56 PM
Democrat Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Dianne Feinstein of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York today applauded the new pathogen standards for salmonella and campylobacter in chicken and turkey, while the National Chicken Council said “We look forward to reviewing the proposed new federal standards in their entirety and providing comments to the agency.”
The new standards have been proposed by the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
In a joint news release, the senators noted that they had urged USDA to establish the stronger standards, which will cover chicken parts.
The National Chicken Council said that the industry has already been reducing the occurrence of salmonella on whole chickens, and that since FSIS began testing chicken for campylobacter in 2011, the industry has reduced the incidence by 30 percent.
“Even though we’ve collectively made tremendous progress in reducing salmonella on raw chicken to all-time low levels, the fact is any raw agricultural product, whether its fresh fruit, vegetables, meat or poultry, is susceptible to naturally occurring bacteria that could make someone sick if improperly handled or cooked,” the NCC said.
“Our members are investing heavily in food safety research and are using the best science, research and technology available to break the chain of salmonella at every stage of production,” the NCC said.
“Coupled with continuous USDA inspection and proper handling and cooking to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, chicken is safe to eat 100 percent of the time.”
The new standards have been proposed by the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
In a joint news release, the senators noted that they had urged USDA to establish the stronger standards, which will cover chicken parts.
The National Chicken Council said that the industry has already been reducing the occurrence of salmonella on whole chickens, and that since FSIS began testing chicken for campylobacter in 2011, the industry has reduced the incidence by 30 percent.
“Even though we’ve collectively made tremendous progress in reducing salmonella on raw chicken to all-time low levels, the fact is any raw agricultural product, whether its fresh fruit, vegetables, meat or poultry, is susceptible to naturally occurring bacteria that could make someone sick if improperly handled or cooked,” the NCC said.
“Our members are investing heavily in food safety research and are using the best science, research and technology available to break the chain of salmonella at every stage of production,” the NCC said.
“Coupled with continuous USDA inspection and proper handling and cooking to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, chicken is safe to eat 100 percent of the time.”
