"Early laboratory methods to detect the Big Six were time-consuming and cost prohibitive," says William Cray, chief of the microbiology branch of the
USDAFSIS Eastern Laboratory in Athens, Georgia.
In 2011, USDA-FSIS tightened its performance standard for Salmonella contamination of whole broiler chickens; in 2013, 3.9% of samples tested positive (Christopher Aston,
USDAFSIS, Office of Data Integration and Food Protection; personal communication; 2014).
Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (
USDAFSIS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and reinforces the importance of safe food handling to prevent illness.