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For Immediate |
Salmonella Decline May Be Short-Lived If Meat Safety Rollback Continues, Says CSPI Statement Of CSPI Food Safety Director Caroline Smith DeWaal Declines in illness rates for two food-borne hazards, Salmonella and Campylobacter, is certainly good news for American consumers. It shows that the recent advances were resulting in cleaner, safer meat and fewer illnesses. But even as bioterrorism concerns were at their height, last December a federal appeals court struck down crucial provisions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s meat-safety regulations in Supreme Beef Processors v. USDA. That decision could reverse years of progress that have reduced the risk of food poisoning. Illness rates could go right back up as the Bush Administration stops enforcing USDA’s limits on Salmonella in meat and poultry. This rollback must be reversed or consumers will face greater food-safety risks in the future than they do today. | |
