Study: Safer meat requires reducing risks where food animals are raised
A variety of pre-harvest interventions can significantly reduce the risk that bacteria harmful to humans will infect food animals.
Wider use of evidence-based food safety interventions on farms and feedlots would significantly reduce the risk of people getting sick from contaminated meat and poultry, according to a report released The Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia.
The report, “Food Safety From Farm to Fork,” examines potential means to prevent foodborne illnesses by investing in strategies to control Salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens that live in and around food animals. Cattle, poultry and swine often harbor these microorganisms before they reach the slaughterhouse gate, where the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s oversight authority starts.