Poultry is the most consumed protein in the U.S. Over 8 billion chickens and turkeys are eaten each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Salmonella is responsible for 1 million foodborne illnesses attributed to poultry, yet a minimum of 1 in 25 packages of poultry sold in the grocery store is contaminated with Salmonella.
We believe the poultry industry and the federal government can and should do better. That’s why we continue to work collaboratively to effectively reduce Salmonella contamination in poultry.
The 2022 powdered infant formula contamination, recall and subsequent shortage was a ‘perfect storm’ that exposed the dysfunction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Along with our coalition partners, STOP began calling upon the FDA Commissioner to fix the deficiencies within the agency including appointing a fully empowered Deputy Commissioner of Human Foods who has food safety experience and uniting all aspects of human foods in which the FDA regulates. It has been, at times, contentious, however, we want and NEED the agency to be poised for the future to protect public health.
The recall system in the U.S. was developed to inform consumers. Sadly, the system has not changed in over 30 years, and it does not provide timely, actionable, and easily accessible information for consumers.
STOP began convening a multi-faceted stakeholder working group on this issue in September 2020 and continues to pursue systemic changes throughout both the FDA and USDA systems. We are currently seeking funding to support research, to be conducted by Dr. William Hallman at Rutgers University, that will provide insights to what changes will be beneficial and transformational for the consumer.
Cronobacter sakazakii is not a new bacterium in dry goods such as tea, powdered milk, and powdered infant formula. It is deadly to infants less than three months of age and has been implicated in many infant deaths associated with powdered infant formula. The immune system of a newborn is not sufficiently developed to fight off this opportunistic bacterium and a Cronobacter sakazakii infection can lead to bacterial meningitis and sepsis – both are life-threatening.
What is new is that STOP has led the call to include Cronobacter on the CDC’s reportable list. The inclusion on the list is important so surveillance and reporting of Cronobacter sakazakii infections will be reported and experts can gather data to determine how common this type of infection truly is in infants. This will save lives.
There is a food movement being heavily promoted through social media claiming that raw milk is healthier and safer than pasteurized milk. Anyone making these claims ignores the extensive literature focusing on the risks – especially for children and aging adults – of consuming raw milk. Prior to the invention of pasteurization children died from tuberculosis, scarlet fever, and other diseases spread through raw milk. Pasteurization is one of public health’s most effective food safety interventions.
Remember, infants and children are not miniature adults, and they handle infectious diseases differently. Our work is to stop foodborne illnesses and reduce food-associated risks. Consuming raw milk and raw milk products is a risk we urge all consumers NOT to take. Although farmers may be mindful in their production, there is no ‘kill’ step to remove potentially harmful contaminants such as Campylobacter or E. coli. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that the risk of outbreaks linked to raw milk is at least 150 times greater than the risk of outbreaks linked to pasteurized milk.[1]
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/rawmilk-outbreaks.html
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