Salmonella Clusters Associated with Product Recalls and Other Actions Taken By the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service, FY2007-2013

BACKGROUND: Foodborne salmonellosis is a major cause of morbidity in the United States, with meat and poultry products commonly implicated as common sources of infection.  In recent years, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has identified Salmonella reduction as a leading priority, enhancing food inspection, public health expertise and regulatory authority towards the prevention and control and prevention of Salmonella outbreaks. This presentation reviews Salmonella outbreaks reported to FSIS that resulted in product recalls and other public health control actions.  

METHODS: Salmonella outbreaks reported to and investigated by FSIS during FY2007-2013 were reviewed and those which resulted in a product recall, public health alert, or an in-plant administrative enforcement action (e.g., suspension) were selected for descriptive analysis. Outbreaks of interest were summarized by the number of associated illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths, as well as the types of implicated FSIS-regulated products and control actions resulting from investigations.  

RESULTS: During the study period, a total of 41 Salmonella outbreaks resulting in 2,691 illnesses, 577 hospitalizations, and 6 deaths were investigated by FSIS.  Meat was implicated as the source of 19 (46%) outbreaks and poultry was implicated in 16 (39%) outbreaks. The remaining five investigations involved egg products, complex foods  ( foods containing multiple ingredients such as pot pies), and multiple food products.  Twenty-four (59%) resulted in an FSIS public health action. These 24 outbreaks represented a total of 2,068 reported illnesses, 489 hospitalizations, and 6 deaths.    FSIS requested product recalled product 14 times in response to a Salmonella outbreak.  Other actions included food safety assessments, intensified microbial testing of establishments, issuance of notifications, notices of intended enforcement and suspension of operations.

CONCLUSIONS: When evidence implicates meat and poultry as the cause of human illness, multiple strategies can be used by FSIS to facilitate control and prevention. FSIS’s ability to take actions in response to an outbreak hinges upon the availability of  epidemiologic, microbiologic, and traceback data, requiring strong partnerships with federal, state and local partners.