Foster Farms Poultry Plants In Operation Amid Salmonella Outbreak, More Than 300 Sick
Three Foster Farms’ poultry plants are still in operation despite the demands from consumer advocate groups and lawmakers to shut down after more than 300 people in 20 states have fallen sick due to tainted chicken meat.
The Livingston and Fresno Foster Farms’ plants are staying open after the company put into place several new food safety control measures in the last two months. That’s according to word from the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Foster.
According to the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Food and Safety and Inspection Service, the company’s safety plans were looked at and federal inspectors will stay at the company’s plants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 317 people around the United States have been infected by the outbreak involving the Salmonella Heidelberg virus; 42 percent of those infected had to be hospitalized. The CDC said no deaths have been attributed to the outbreak.
U.S. N.Y. Dem. Rep. Louise Slaughter said it’s a disgrace that the plants are allowed to remain open, saying the USDA should have shut them down. She said this decision is a danger to people’s health and encourages others to break the law.
The company has yet to recall the chicken, despite the Center for Science in the Public Interest insistence to do so. The company said so long as the chicken is cooked handled appropriately, it is safe to eat.
The new safety measures Foster Farms put into place have not been released to the public.
The USDA is closed mainly because of the U.S. government shutdown, which furloughed thousands of workers. However, meat inspectors were considered essential employees and were allowed to stay on the job.
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