USDA issues food safety alert for salmonella-tainted Foster Farms chicken

http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2013/10/usda_issues_food_safety_alert.html

Foster Farms recalled Grilled Chicken Breast Strips over wheat and soy earlier this year but it has not recalled chicken over Salmonella.

By Lynne Terry | lterry@oregonian.com 
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on October 07, 2013 at 3:42 PM, updated October 07, 2013 at 3:43 PM

The U.S. Department of Agriculture warned the public on Monday about an ongoing salmonella outbreak traced to Foster Farms chicken.

The agency said nearly 280 illnesses had been traced to raw poultry produced at three Foster Farms facilities in California. The chicken was distributed to stores in Oregon, Washington and California.

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Earlier this year, Oregon and Washington health authorities issued a similar health alert, after a spike in cases in 2012. Officials have been tracking a specific strain of Salmonella found in Foster Farms chicken since 2003. The first illnesses in Oregon popped up in 2004.

Oregon epidemiologists alerted the company and the USDA in 2004 or 2005. The USDA told The Oregonian it's been investigating since February this year. The company has not issued a recall over salmonella.

This year, Oregon health authorities have confirmed two cases of Salmonella Heidelberg associated with Foster Farms chicken, according to Susan Wickstrom, a Public Health Division spokeswoman. One case was in Multnomah County and the other was in Marion County. Those two cases compare with 43 in Oregon in 2012.

Salmonella, the number one foodborne pathogen in the United States, is killed with thorough cooking.

-- Lynne Terry