991022 Irradiation, Rinses & Sprays Tested On ChickensOctober 9, 1999Washington - U.S. chicken processors said they would begin testing new rinses, sprays, bedding material and irradiation to reduce foodborne disease in raw poultry. The methods and technology will be analyzed after a year to help decide which are most effective and should be adopted by the industry, according to the National Chicken Council. “There is nothing more important to us than consumer confidence,” said Jim Perdue, chairman of Perdue Farms Inc, which ranks as one of the nation's biggest chicken processors. “If there is something else we need to do, we'll do it.” The cost of testing the new technology and methods will be “considerable,” according to industry officials. In the past three years major U.S. chicken companies have spent about $1 million per plant to adopt more scientific methods to reduce contamination under stricter rules adopted by the U.S. Agriculture Department. While the industry has succeeded under pressure from the USDA in dramatically cutting salmonella in raw chicken, nearly 90% of chickens are still tainted with campylobacter. Campylobacter, the biggest cause of foodborne disease in the United States, can cause diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The bacteria is also found in raw milk, beef and water. IRRADIATION, SANITIZERS TO BE TESTED Under the new industry plan, each major poultry company will test one prevention method at the farm level and one in processing plants, Perdue said. The companies participating in the test were not identified, but officials said they account for 90% of U.S. poultry production. The technologies to be used on farms include sanitizing bedding material used in chicken houses, giving chicks helpful bacteria to crowd out the disease- causing bacteria in their intestines, and chlorinating the birds' drinking water. In the processing plants, companies will use trisodium phosphate and other sanitizers to rinse the carcasses. Irradiation -- a treatment exposing uncooked foods to tiny amounts of electron beams -- will be used by Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE:TSN - news), which plans to start selling the treated chicken in selected markets in the spring. Irradiation was approved by federal regulators years ago for use on raw chicken, but was never widely used because of concern about consumer acceptance. Irradiation rules are expected to be finalized by year-end for ground beef. Consumer groups said the chicken industry's plan should help make food safer. “It's a definite sign that the poultry industry is taking more responsibility for cleaning up its product than they have in the past,” said Caroline Smith De Waal, a food safety expert with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “They still have a long way to go but at least they are on road.” The Safe Food Coalition, made up of several consumer groups, earlier this year urged the USDA to require tests for campylobacter at poultry plants. Separately, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced new data on Thursday showing small poultry plants were matching larger ones in reducing the rate of salmonella. New USDA data found salmonella was present in about 14% of raw poultry processed at small plants, down from 20% more than a year ago. Campylobacter, salmonella and various other foodborne diseases cause an estimated 76 million illnesses and 5,000 deaths annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
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