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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

No recall, shutdown over tainted chicken

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – An outbreak of antibiotic-resistant salmonella linked to a California chicken producer continues to sicken people more than a year after it started.

Despite the illnesses, producer Foster Farms has not initiated a recall, and the government has no apparent plans to shut it down.

The federal Centers for Disease Control says there were 50 new illnesses in the last two months, bringing to 574 the total number of cases in the outbreak. Most of the illnesses are in California.

Though centered on the West Coast, the outbreak is widespread – victims came from 27 states and Puerto Rico.

The Agriculture Department says it is closely monitoring Foster Farms facilities and that measured rates of salmonella in the company’s products have been going down. The department threatened to shut down Foster Farms’ facilities last year but let them stay open after the company said it had made immediate changes to reduce salmonella rates.

Food safety advocates say it is long past time to pressure the company for a recall and to shut down production.

“It’s very unclear why USDA isn’t taking more action to stop the sale of the product and protect the public,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Foster Farms said this week that it has put new measures in place, including tighter screening of birds, improved safety on the farms where the birds are raised and better sanitation in its plants. The company suggested that the recent cases may be because salmonella incidence increases in the warmer months.

The CDC said three-fourths of victims who were able to provide the CDC with brand information said they had consumed chicken produced by Foster Farms before becoming ill.

The CDC said 37 percent of victims were hospitalized and 13 percent of the victims had developed blood infections, almost three times the normal rate.