USDA issues warning to Foster Farms regarding salmonella outbreak
By Denise DadorWednesday, October 09, 2013
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Concern continues to grow over an outbreak of illness caused by strains of salmonella linked to raw chicken from three California Foster Farms plants. The Agriculture Department says it want answers.
The USDA says that Foster Farms has until Thursday to tell them how they plan to fix the problem. If that deadline's not met, they will withhold inspections, which will effectively shut the plants down.
While the cases were first reported in March, Los Angeles County health officials now say they've got 18 confirmed cases of the same strain of salmonella.
In Orange County, 15 residents reported being sick; seven of them were hospitalized. Ventura County health officials say they got nine cases.
Nearly 300 people in 18 states were sickened after eating chicken that the USDA believes came from Foster Farms. Forty-two percent of those people were hospitalized.
"I was talking to the CDC about this last night and this is one of those outbreaks they're worried about. The reason is the number of people hospitalized by the salmonella is higher than they would expect. And the strains of the organism, many of them are resistant to antibiotics," said Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News' chief health and medical editor.
The concern is so serious, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is bringing back workers furloughed in the government shutdown to respond. They're worried more people could still get sick.
The USDA has not directly linked the outbreak of illnesses to a specific product or production period. The USDA mark on suspect packages would read: P6137, P6137A and P7632.
Foster Farms says they are working to address the problem but are not issuing a recall. The company says on its website that its "products are safe to consume if properly handled and fully cooked."
Even though the meat hasn't been recalled, some grocery stores are taking it off their shelves anyway. Kroger Co. said it is taking some Foster Farms products from the shelves in certain stores and calling customers who it knows may have purchased the products. The company owns several chains, including Ralph's, Fred Meyer, Fry's and others.Salmonella is a pathogen that contaminates meat during slaughter and processing, and is especially common in raw chicken. Symptoms include fever, nausea, cramps and diarrhea.
To help prevent salmonella sickness, be sure you wash your hands with soap and warm water before and after handling raw chicken. Cook chicken to 165 degrees; that will kill the bacteria. And run cutting boards through the dishwasher to properly disinfect them.
Source: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health&id=9281371&cmp=emc-kabc-Top_stories_|_ABC7_Los_Angeles-100913-top1-9281371Check out http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/
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