The American poultry business is affected by salmonella contamination, in accordance with a brand new report from animal welfare group Farm Ahead1. A mix of excessive permissible thresholds from USDA, poor oversight from USDA’s Meals Security and Inspection Service (FSIS), and frequent humane violations has led to an business rife with contaminated hen.
Main poultry corporations together with Perdue, Foster Farms, Cargill, Butterball, and Costco’s provider Lincoln Premium Poultry have “repeatedly” acquired the USDA’s worst score for extreme salmonella contamination — and all with out penalties, in accordance with the report. Consequently, contaminated hen has “possible” been bought for federal diet help packages like college lunches.
Particulars of the Poultry Report
The brand new report was compiled utilizing information that USDA makes public on its web site. This information revealed that 5 poultry crops got the bottom Class 3 score for salmonella contamination each month from 2020 to 2024.
Of those 5 crops, three have been giant services: Butterball’s turkey plant in Carthage, Missouri; Cargill’s turkey plant in Dayton, Virginia; and Koch Meals’ hen plant in Cumming, Georgia. Perdue’s Georgetown, Delaware plant acquired a Class 3 rating 95 p.c of the time, whereas Lincoln Premium Poultry plant (AKA the supply of Costco hen) earned a Class 3 rating 92 p.c of the time. The Lincoln plant slaughters over 100 million chickens yearly for Costco’s rotisserie hen and Kirkland Signature uncooked hen model.
Whereas greater than 90 p.c of crops nonetheless met the USDA’s requirements, those that didn’t are “large crops producing a big proportion of the U.S. poultry provide,” in accordance with Andrew deCoriolis, Farm Ahead’s govt director. “An enormous quantity of contaminated meat goes out the door [onto] the cabinets and into properties, and we’re not utilizing each device we are able to to forestall that.”
The Excellent Storm for Salmonella
Evaluation within the report showcased the complexity of the problem, which begins with USDA’s “important” allowable salmonella contamination ranges in poultry: 15.4% optimistic for hen elements and a whopping 25% for “comminuted” (aka floor or processed) hen.
That is additional compounded by a scarcity of oversight from FSIS, which, the report says, lacks the authority wanted to implement its already lax salmonella requirements.
“The company can not shut down crops for repeated contamination, cease contaminated merchandise from getting into the meals provide, or challenge remembers— even when crops repeatedly fail its requirements for contamination,” write the report authors. And whereas FSIS proposed a rule in August 2024 to restrict salmonella in uncooked poultry, it withdrew the proposal in Might 2025 following pushback from the poultry business2.
The inhumane remedy of birds inside the manufacturing facility farming business additional contributes to the probability of contamination. “Birds raised in crowded, nerve-racking circumstances usually tend to shed micro organism,” write the report authors.
Why Salmonella Must Be Taken Significantly
Salmonella is likely one of the main causes of foodborne sickness and the main reason for loss of life from foodborne sickness in america3. In line with the Facilities for Illness Management, salmonella micro organism contributed to 1.3 million diseases and 238 deaths in 2019 alone4.
If we wish to do something about salmonella prevention, poultry is a good place to begin. In line with a 2025 evaluation within the Journal of Meals Safety, the poultry business accounts for nearly one-fifth of all salmonella-related foodborne sickness5, making it the main reason for salmonella an infection.
Sources:
- https://www.farmforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Farm-Ahead-Salmonella-and-Foodborne-Illness-October-2025.pdf
- https://www.federalregister.gov/paperwork/2025/04/25/2025-07187/salmonella-framework-for-raw-poultry-products
- https://www.cdc.gov/food-safety/php/data-research/foodborne-illness-burden/index.html
- https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/4/24-0913_article
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X25002121
