USDA Says Salmonella Incidents Decline

April 19, 2002

USDA says it has data that show the prevalence of salmonella in raw meat and poultry has declined in comparison to studies conducted prior to implementation of the pathogen reduction/hazard analysis and critical control point (PR/HACCP) system of inspection. "This data shows salmonella prevalence levels well below the product baselines set prior to HACCP," said Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman. "This indicates that HACCP has contributed to a reduction in the prevalence of salmonella in the nation's meat and poultry products."

Implementation of PR/HACCP, a science-based inspection system, began in 1998. The system requires that establishments develop a plan to prevent hazards and reduce pathogens in products.

In the second year of aggregate data on all sizes of plants, the new data indicate for combined test results, that all categories of product show improvement over baseline studies conducted prior to PR/HACCP implementation.

Combined test results for establishments of all sizes show lower salmonella prevalence in 1998-2001 than in baseline studies: broilers average 10.7% under HACCP, compared to 20 % prior to HACCP; market hogs average 5.4% compared to 8.7%; cows and bulls average 2.2% compared to 2.7%; steers and heifers average 0.4% compared to 1%; ground beef averages 3.4% compared to 7.5%; ground chicken averages 15.7% compared to 44.6%; and ground turkey averages 29.2% compared to 49.9%.

Annual data shows that, in some products, such as broilers, prevalence increased by slight percentage points from CY 2000 to CY 2001, but it declined in other products, such as ground beef. Despite the minor fluctuations, salmonella prevalence, in all classes of products, has declined to levels below the baseline prevalence estimates determined prior to HACCP.

Details of the new report can be found at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.