The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, in study results released earlier this month, reports salmonella prevalence in poultry products are still below baseline standards set in the mid-1990s.
For the years 1998-2003, the percentage of salmonella in broilers is at 11.2 percent, well below the baseline of 20 percent.
The rate from 2002 to 2003, however, increased from 11.5 percent to 12.8 percent. But the total number of samples taken last year were 30 percent less than in 2002, so there were fewer positive samples (1,056 versus 828).
In ground chicken, during the five-year period, salmonella remained below the baseline of 44.6 percent at 22.5 percent.
But again comparing 2002 to '03, the prevalence rose from 29.1 percent to 35.5 percent while examining 31 percent fewer samples.
Total positive samples were 105 in 2003 compared 125 in 2002.
There is a similar story for ground turkey. Prevalence from 1998 to 2003 was 26.4 percent compared to a base level of 49.9 percent. But again, it increased from 17.9 percent to 25.4 percent with fewer sam- ples (7 percent) taken. In 2003 there were 255 positive samples versus 192 in 2002.
The baselines for the study were established by the implementation of Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points program in 1996. The principle, from NASA and also known as HACCP (pronounced "hassip"), was developed to ensure safety for space flight. It has been adapted to the needs of several industries, including food production.
For the study, the USDA tracks salmonella in three categories of plants: large, small, very small.
While it is certainly positive that testing shows prevalence well below the baselines, it is worrisome that the prevalence increased from 2002 to 2003.
For broilers, the percentage from 2003 was the highest of all six years. The same holds true for ground chicken. Ground turkey, on the other hand, had the second lowest percentage in 2003 of the six years.
