Rodent infestation causes recall of 600,000+ pounds of poultry

Saturday, September 24, 2016 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: poultry recall, food safety, foodborne illness

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(NaturalNews) An Arkansas-based company has recalled more than 650,000 pounds of meat and poultry products after US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspectors discovered rodents in the meat storage area and signs of fecal contamination in the meat.

All the retail stores affected by the recall are in Arkansas.

The food safety concerns were discovered during routine FSIS inspection of an MIH Marketing and Sales facility. Inspectors found that meat was being stored under "insanitary" conditions, which included rodent activity. FSIS seized the products at the facility and tested them. Tests confirmed the presence of alkaline phosphatase, which may indicate fecal contamination.

No cases of illness have been reported stemming from the tainted meat. The FSIS encourages anyone showing signs of food-borne illness to contact their healthcare provider.

Are you affected?

Two separate categories of food are affected by the recall. The first includes raw chicken breast fillet, chicken thigh, chicken drumstick, chicken wing, and chicken tender foods sold in clear, packages of about five pounds, between the dates of April 10 and September 10 at the following stores:

Edwards Cash Saver #3476 and Edwards Cash Saver #3442, Beebe, AR
Edwards Food Giant #3477, and Knight's Super Foods, Beebe, AR
Knight's Super Foods, Babot, AR
Edwards Food Giant #3444 Bryant, AR
Edwards Food Giant #19 Forrest City, AR
Edwards Food Giant #1710 Harrisburg, AR;
Edwards Cash Saver #3473 Little Rock, AR
Edwards Food Giant #3474 Little Rock, AR
Edwards Food Giant #3475 Little Rock, AR
Edwards Food Giant #37 Marianna, AR

The second category of recalled foods includes retail meat and poultry products sold in clear retail bags at Chicken City Retail stores located in the cities of Brinkley, Conway, Jonesboro, Marion, North Little Rock, Searcy and Whitehall. The products are labeled with a Sell-By Date between Oct. 30, 2016, and March 19, 2017.

Recalled products should be either discarded or returned to the store where they were purchased. They should not be consumed.

The deadliest food

Although this particular recall is fairly limited in scope, the truth is that poultry products in general are a fairly hazardous food. One study, conducted by the Consumers Union in 2010, found that around two-thirds of all store-bought chickens were contaminated with illness-causing bacteria. Sixty-two percent of chickens tested positive for campylobacter, 14 percent for salmonella, and 9 percent for both.

This was actually a decrease from the prior year, in which 80 percent of chickens tested were contaminated.

According to USDA figures, only about 5 percent of chickens at packing plants are contaminated with salmonella. This suggests that many poultry products are becoming contaminated farther down the supply chain. Additionally, independent studies suggest that campylobacter contamination at packing plants is much more widespread.

Cooking destroys these harmful bacteria, but consumers can still become sick if meat is cooked improperly or if it comes into direct or indirect contact with other foods that are eaten raw, such as fruits or vegetables.

A 2013 study found that produce was the most likely food to cause foodborne illness, but poultry was the food most likely to cause illness that led to death.

Notably, even in cases where produce purchased in stores is contaminated with illness-causing bacteria, those bacteria almost always originate from animal agriculture or human sewage.

No matter where you buy your meat from, be sure to practice good kitchen hygiene. You should have a separate cutting board used only for raw meat, and it should be washed after each use with soap and water. Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water after handling raw meat, and do not let uncooked meat come into contact with any food that will be eaten raw.

Sources:

FoodSafetyNews.com

ScienceDaily.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com