USDA allows salmonella-plagued U.S. plants to remain open — but even Mexico won’t touch this stuff

If you’ve always thought of Mexico as a country with slipshod standards of sanitation, you won’t believe this.

Mexico has banned the import of chickens processed at three U.S. plants run by Foster Farms. And yet, despite a major salmonella outbreak, the USDA has allowed those plants to stay open.

After more than 300 Americans were sickened, the agency STILL allowed contaminated chicken to remain in stores. This was apparently based on Foster Farms’ new safety protocols.

The agency claims that Foster Farms chicken is safe to eat if consumers just follow instructions. (Always the fault of the consumer now, isn’t it!)

USDA lackeys explain that dangerous pathogens are killed if poultry is cooked to a minimum of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

But apparently, Mexican authorities aren’t ready to take that risk. They’ve dropped Foster Farms from their list of approved exporters.

I never thought we’d be looking to Mexico for better food safety standards.

Sources:
“Mexico blocks imports of Foster Farms chicken” David Pierson, Los Angeles Times, 10/24/13, latimes.com