NEW MEAT AND POULTRY INSPECTION SYSTEM GREATLY REDUCES THREAT OF SALMONELLA 

                                            Release No. 0026.99 

                                     Andy Solomon (202) 720-4623
                                           andy.solomon@usda.gov
                                      Beth Gaston (202) 720-9113
                                         elizabeth.gaston@usda.gov

NEW MEAT AND POULTRY INSPECTION SYSTEM GREATLY REDUCES THREAT OF SALMONELLA

  WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 1999 Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced
today that the nation's new, science-based, prevention-oriented meat and
poultry inspection system has greatly reduced the incidence of Salmonella in some raw
meat and poultry.  Today's announcement comes as nearly
3,000 small plants nationwide prepare to implement the new system, called
"HACCP," on January 25.  

  "By using modern science as our guide, we are succeeding in reducing the
threat of foodborne illness for American families," Glickman said in remarks
to the U.S Poultry and Egg Association's Annual Convention in Atlanta.  "And
President Clinton's plan for additional investments in cutting-edge food
safety research and even more science-based inspections will lead to even more
gains in our fight to ensure a safe food supply."  

  Salmonella is a potentially deadly bacteria that sickens as many as 3.8
million Americans each year.  The preliminary findings represent nine months
of data collection in nearly 300 large plants that implemented the Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system in Jan. 1998. 

  The first data released for ground beef samples showed 7.5 percent
testing positive for Salmonella prior to January, 1998 and only 4.3 percent
testing positive after HACCP implementation, a decline of over 40 percent.  

  The new data for chicken and pork continue positive trends reported
several months ago.  Of chicken carcasses, 20.0 percent tested positive for
Salmonella before HACCP implementation, compared to 10.7 after implementation. 
That's a decline of nearly 50 percent. And 8.7 percent of swine tested
positive prior to HACCP versus 6.2 percent after HACCP implementation, a
decrease of more than 25 percent.  There is insufficient data to draw
conclusions about other categories of meat.  
  
  The science-based HACCP inspection system requires plants to identify
critical points along their production lines and ensure that practices at
those points minimize bacterial contamination and growth.  
HACCP took effect in January 1998 at the nation's 300 largest plants. Small
plants, those with between ten and 499 employees will come under HACCP on Jan.
25, 1999.  Very small plants, those with fewer than ten employees, will
implement HACCP in January 2000. 

  Under HACCP, the federal government sets strict limits for the incidence
of Salmonella allowed on raw meat or poultry.  The nine month data indicate
that 89 percent of HACCP plants for which there are adequate data meet or
exceed the government's Salmonella performance standards. Plants that did not
meet the standards were required to take immediate corrective measures. 

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