Potential Impacts of a Zero Tolerance Policy for Salmonella on Raw Meat and Poultry
January 2018. Despite progress in reducing the prevalence of Salmonella in raw meat and poultry, human illness due to Salmonella has not decreased over the past 15 years. The United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service previously used zero tolerance policies to control E. coli O157 in ground beef. However, enacting zero tolerance policies for Salmonella will not necessarily produce the desired public health outcomes, and may lead to unsustainable increases in the number of meat and poultry products that would be held and recalled, with the potential for increased costs for producers, distributors, and consumers.
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Potential Impacts of Classifying Specific Strains of Salmonella with Multi-Drug Resistance as Adulterants in Ground Beef and Poultry Products
January 2015. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers strains of Salmonella resistant to multiple antibiotics (multi-drug resistant or MDR Salmonella) to be serious public health concerns, leading to proposals to declare them to be adulterants in ground beef and poultry. While testing has shown progress, current technology cannot assure that all raw meat and poultry are Salmonella-free. Additional analyses are needed to identify more effective public health interventions to address MDR Salmonella.